FP3 at the 2026 F1 United States GP at Circuit of the Americas has been completed, view the full report here.
The third and final Free Practice session of the 2026 F1 United States GP saw Ferrari, Red Bull and Mercedes battle for the top spot at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA). After Charles Leclerc topped both Friday sessions, the Monegasque continued to demonstrate strong pace, although repeated track limits infringements disrupted his running. Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen and Kimi Antonelli all took turns leading the timesheets as lap times improved. With drivers pushing the limits during their qualifying simulations, Hamilton held the advantage heading into the final ten minutes of FP3.
Leclerc the man to catch in Austin after topping FP1 and FP2 on Friday
Saturday’s track action at the 2026 F1 United States GP got underway with the third and final Free Practice session at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA), giving teams one last opportunity to refine their setups ahead of qualifying. The session followed a competitive Friday, during which Charles Leclerc topped both practice sessions.
During FP1, Leclerc set a 1:36.052 to finish 0.084s ahead of Max Verstappen, while Lando Norris completed the top three. George Russell and Kimi Antonelli followed in fourth and fifth, respectively.
The Ferrari driver maintained his advantage in FP2, improving to a 1:35.291 to edge Antonelli by just 0.042s. Verstappen finished third, ahead of Lewis Hamilton and Russell.
However, several drivers struggled with braking errors and oversteer throughout Friday’s running, while long-run simulations revealed significant tyre degradation amidst the hot conditions and bumpy track. Consequently, teams faced important decisions regarding car setup and tyre management heading into Saturday’s final practice session and qualifying.
A quiet opening 10 minutes of FP3 at the 2026 F1 United States GP in Austin
As the pit lane lights turned green, Cadillac’s Sergio Pérez led Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto and Alpine’s Franco Colapinto onto the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) for the third and final Free Practice session of the 2026 United States GP. Warm conditions greeted the drivers as they began their final preparations ahead of qualifying.
Both Colapinto and Bortoleto faced grid penalties for Sunday’s race following power unit component changes. Colapinto took his fourth control electronics unit of the season, while Bortoleto received his fourth energy store and fourth control electronics unit. Audi also introduced a replacement internal combustion engine (ICE), turbocharger, exhaust set and power unit ancillary component, although these changes remained within his permitted allocation and carried no additional penalties. Meanwhile, Racing Bulls’ Arvid Lindblad also faced a grid penalty after taking his sixth ICE, exceeding the permitted allocation of four.
Unlike FP1 and FP2, which saw drivers head out almost immediately to maximise their track time, FP3 began at a considerably slower pace. Only Pérez, Colapinto and Bortoleto ventured onto the circuit during the opening five minutes.
Pérez established the early benchmark with a 1:39.880 on the hard tyres, while Colapinto followed with a 1:40.241. However, Bortoleto returned to the pits without completing a timed lap.
Pierre Gasly and Valtteri Bottas subsequently joined their respective teammates on track, with Gasly immediately improving the benchmark to 1:37.592 on the medium tyres. Meanwhile, Bottas moved into third with a 1:39.84.
Nevertheless, most of the field had yet to leave the pit lane as the session passed the ten-minute mark, leaving plenty of room for lap times to improve as running intensified.
Verstappen top of the time sheets as early times come in
As the session passed the ten-minute mark, more drivers began emerging from the pit lane. Fernando Alonso, Audi teammates Nico Hülkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto, Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton, and Williams drivers Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon all headed onto the circuit. Haas’ Esteban Ocon and Racing Bulls teammates Arvid Lindblad and Liam Lawson also joined the action. Meanwhile, McLaren’s Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri led the remaining drivers out as track activity intensified.
With approximately 45 minutes remaining, Hamilton established a new benchmark of 1:36.716 on the soft tyres. Gasly subsequently improved to 1:36.861 to retain second, while Lindblad moved into third with a 1:37.186. The Racing Bulls driver displaced Hülkenberg, who recorded a 1:37.253 to lead Audi teammate Bortoleto, whose 1:37.428 placed him fifth.
However, Lawson soon displaced Hamilton at the top with a 1:36.420. Norris briefly went fastest on the soft tyres, but a track limits infringement cost the McLaren driver his lap time. Teammate Piastri subsequently claimed the top spot with a 1:36.243, before Max Verstappen responded with a 1:35.702 on the medium compound.
Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli then climbed to third with a 1:36.284 on the soft tyres, while Haas’ Oliver Bearman moved into sixth with a 1:36.814. Meanwhile, Charles Leclerc, who had topped both Friday sessions, began his first flying lap and immediately moved into second with a 1:35.962.
Consequently, Verstappen led Leclerc and Piastri as the session reached the 20-minute mark, with the Dutchman’s medium-tyre effort remaining the benchmark ahead of his rivals on the softer compound.
Leclerc leads the order at the half-way point of FP3 at the 2026 United States GP
However, Leclerc soon lost his lap time for exceeding track limits, joining Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar at the bottom of the timesheets. Meanwhile, Hamilton improved to a 1:35.561 to take the top spot, before Hadjar climbed to fourth with a 1:36.243. George Russell subsequently moved into third with a 1:35.879, although Norris quickly displaced the Mercedes driver with a 1:35.706.
Verstappen, meanwhile, expressed his frustration over team radio, complaining about his gear shifts and a lack of pace compared with Friday’s running. With 23 minutes elapsed, Leclerc remained the only driver without a representative lap time after his earlier deletion.
The Ferrari driver subsequently returned to the circuit for another attempt but ran wide, complaining about a lack of tyre temperature. Elsewhere, Hamilton briefly slowed almost to a halt before getting going again, while Albon’s difficulties with track limits continued as officials deleted another of his lap times.
However, Leclerc eventually found the pace that had seen him dominate Friday’s running, producing a 1:35.127 to reclaim the top spot. Antonelli responded with a strong lap of 1:35.453 but could only move into second, 0.326s behind the Ferrari driver.
Hamilton consequently dropped to third, while Verstappen improved to a 1:35.571 to occupy fourth. Norris held fifth with his 1:35.706, narrowly ahead of McLaren teammate Piastri, who recorded a 1:35.788.
As the session reached its halfway point, Leclerc therefore led Antonelli and Hamilton, with Ferrari and Mercedes occupying the leading three positions ahead of the final 30 minutes of running.
Improvements continue into the second half
As FP3 entered its second half, Hamilton improved to a 1:35.416, moving into second and closing to within three-tenths of teammate Leclerc, who retained the top spot. Meanwhile, Russell briefly split the McLaren duo of Norris and Piastri, but a track limits infringement cost him his lap time, dropping the Mercedes driver back to seventh.
Further down the order, Colapinto climbed to tenth with a 1:36.579, recovering from a difficult start to the session that had left him near the bottom of the timesheets for much of the opening half.
However, track activity soon eased as most drivers returned to the pit lane for setup adjustments. With the final 20 minutes approaching, teams turned their attention to preparing their cars for the closing runs, leaving Leclerc at the top of the order ahead of Hamilton and Antonelli.
Hamilton takes the lead as track limits disrupt final qualifying simulations
As drivers returned to the circuit for their final qualifying simulations, Antonelli briefly moved to the top of the timesheets with a 1:35.015, while Mercedes teammate Russell improved to third with a 1:35.381. However, Antonelli’s lap time was subsequently deleted for exceeding track limits at Turn 9, handing the lead back to Leclerc.
Meanwhile, Verstappen began his soft-tyre run and improved to a 1:35.061 to claim the top spot. Hamilton then responded with a 1:34.893 on the same compound, becoming the first driver to break into the 1:34s.
Leclerc and Norris subsequently attempted to challenge the Ferrari driver, but both encountered oversteer and ran wide during their flying laps. Norris initially climbed to fourth with a 1:35.244, while Leclerc appeared to reclaim the lead with an impressive 1:34.819.
However, officials deleted both lap times for track limits infringements, denying Leclerc the fastest time and Norris his improvement. Consequently, Hamilton retained the lead ahead of Verstappen as FP3 entered its final ten minutes. Leclerc remained P3, with Norris down in P8 as Piastri and Hülkenberg improved past him into P6 and P7, respectively.
Few improvements followed into the dying minutes of the session, leaving Hamilton as the session’s top performer. Verstappen sat second, ahead of Lerclerc, while Antonelli improved to P4 with a 1:35.196, putting himself ahead of teammate Russell in P5.
