Leclerc’s fastest time in final practice was deleted, leaving Hamilton on top

The battle with the white lines in Austin continued in third practice. As on Friday, Ferrari’s drivers were quickest around the magnificent Texas circuit. Charles Leclerc set the fastest time, but after exceeding track limits on his best lap, it was Lewis Hamilton who ultimately took top spot with the fastest valid time.

Those watching counted exactly 39 track limits infringements in third practice for the US Grand Prix. Virtually every driver at the front exceeded the limits at some point. Those infringements cost Lando Norris, Kimi Antonelli and Charles Leclerc some very competitive lap times.

It was crossing the white line at Turn 9 that denied the Monegasque driver a clean sweep of the practice sessions. Although Charles missed out, with his fastest valid lap only good enough for third, his team still completed the practice clean sweep, as Lewis Hamilton ultimately claimed top spot.

Ferrari therefore head into qualifying having topped all three practice sessions. That does not, however, make the Scuderia the clear favourites. Max Verstappen’s Red Bull, Kimi Antonelli’s Mercedes and Lando Norris’s McLaren are all close. For now, their team-mates do not feature heavily in the equation, as Hadjar, Russell and Piastri clearly had plenty of problems of their own in free practice.

It does, however, look set to be a close battle. Nothing is guaranteed for Ferrari at this stage, and we must also bear in mind that, more than once this year, the red car has failed to make as big a step as its rivals heading into qualifying. Leclerc and Hamilton will need to keep a particularly close eye on Verstappen and Antonelli, both of whom look very competitive.

Otherwise, third practice produced few incidents. Drivers getting in each other’s way and exploring the limits of the white lines are normal at this stage of the weekend. From 23:00, however, when what promises to be a fascinating qualifying session gets under way, we will begin to discover who really is fastest in Austin.