United States – Free Practice 3: Hamilton remains on track, Vettel closes in
The final rehearsal results in a new track lap record, courtesy of Lewis Hamilton. But this time, Sebastian Vettel finishes within the same tenth of a second. Valtteri Bottas completes the top three, while the Red Bulls are pushed to the background.
The third practice session opened in an ideal setting. The Texan sky was kind to the 20 drivers, and bright sunshine bathed the Circuit of the Americas at the green light. With 30.3 degrees recorded on the track, the all-time record could be under threat, less than 24 hours after Lewis Hamilton’s performance in FP2.
The first on the track, Brendon Hartley wasted no time continuing his learning, following a very studious Friday (47 laps). At Red Bull, the pre-session work was concentrated in Max Verstappen’s garage. The Austrian team decided to change the Dutchman’s power unit (and MGU-H), the sixth of his season. The driver was still able to go for an installation lap in the first ten minutes. Shortly after, he was logically given a 15-place grid penalty.
Far from these worries, Lewis Hamilton was quietly settling into his Mercedes after putting on a more classic helmet compared to yesterday.
New day, change of helmet for @LewisHamilton 👀#USGP 🇺🇸 #F1 pic.twitter.com/aS3gmJD0nj
— Formula 1 (@F1) October 21, 2017
The Briton took first place during his first run, with a time of 1:31.125 on ultra-soft tires. Four tenths behind him, Sebastian Vettel secured the second fastest time ahead of Bottas and Räikkönen, who were nine tenths behind. As for the German, he needed reassurance after going off the track in FP2, which forced his team to fit a new chassis.
Grosjean stops his training in the gravel trap
On the rest of the F1 planet, Alonso had a strong start to the session, with a provisional sixth time, ahead of Esteban Ocon. Romain Grosjean had much more misfortune, making a mistake in the eighth turn, midway through. The Frenchman had just compromised his race program. Curiously, Max Verstappen had committed the same error in the same place. Number 33 had been more spirited, recovering more quickly before the turn. The session was suspended for a few minutes with the virtual safety car.
In the wake of Hamilton, Vettel reassures himself
The battle of the chiefs regained vigor. Lewis Hamilton reclaimed the track record, briefly taken by Sebastian Vettel. 1:34.478 for the championship leader. But the Ferrari driver was within the same tenth. Lacking knowledge of his car on long stints, the four-time world champion positioned himself as the main challenger. The Red Bulls were relegated to the background, with a fifth-place Verstappen, seven tenths behind.
The last ten minutes of the session were counting down, time to put on new tires for the final pre-qualifying stint. No significant improvements at the top. The hot spots were actually a bit further down the rankings. At Renault, the battle was fierce. Seventh, Nico Hülkenberg worked hard to hold off the mark of his new teammate. Carlos Sainz came back within the same tenth on the following lap.
Another satisfaction, Felipe Massa, who slots in three-tenths ahead, in sixth place. 15th in the overall standings, Brendon Hartley continued to accumulate kilometers with 26 laps logged. The time for his first qualifying session is approaching. Though this time, patience will be required: the start of Q1 will not be until 4 PM local time (11 PM Paris time).
INITIAL CLASSIFICATION (END OF FP3): Hamilton still on top at @COTA #USGP 🇺🇸 #FP3 pic.twitter.com/xWWmpgjS5M
— Formula 1 (@F1) 21 octobre 2017
