United States Grand Prix – Free Practice 3 – Pérez keeps the upper hand

A timid start to the meeting

It is in front of 120,000 spectators that the last free practice session of the United States Grand Prix begins in Austin. It takes until the tenth minute of the session to see a driver, in the person of Fernando Alonso, set a time. The Spaniard needs to accumulate as many laps as possible after a limited running day for him on Friday. The Alpine driver’s time of 1min40.977 is shattered five minutes later by Lewis Hamilton (by more than five seconds) while there are only six cars on track after fifteen minutes of the session.

The leaders follow one another, the Ferrari in force

Once on track, Pérez takes his Red Bull to the top of the timesheets before being passed by Hamilton at the 22nd minute (the two drivers are separated by 62 thousandths). At the same time, it is announced that Fernando Alonso will join Vettel and Russell at the back of the grid on Sunday, following a complete change of his power unit. Shortly before the mid-session, Verstappen takes the lead with a time of 1:35.207. He is followed by his teammate. One thousandth of a second separates the two men. At the same time, Valtteri Bottas (still without a time) spins out while his illustrious compatriot, Kimi Räikkönen, lifts his modest Alfa Romeo to ninth place. Leclerc is fourth, followed by his teammate Carlos Sainz. The two Ferraris are less than half a second behind Verstappen.

A highly contested end of the session

With less than twenty minutes remaining in the session, Sainz takes the lead in 1.34.805 while Lando Norris shows his muscles by placing his McLaren (which seems somewhat behind compared to the Ferrari) in third position. Sergio Pérez brings his Red Bull to the top of the time sheet with 1.34.701, while Räikkönen, who had dropped to fifteenth place, pushes Fernando Alonso out of the top ten. Leclerc, on his end, is struggling with his rear tires.

At the very end of the session, Verstappen sees his best time (three tenths faster than Pérez’s) cancelled. Same sanction for his rival, Lewis Hamilton, right after. With only five minutes left on the clock, Alonso gives a tow to Esteban Ocon, enabling the Frenchman to enter the top ten.

Pérez takes advantage of his opponents’ cancelled times and finishes this session in first place.

The qualifications will be broadcasted starting at 11pm (French time).

Here is the complete ranking of the session: