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After Charles Leclerc set the pace across Friday's running ahead of the United States Grand Prix, his Ferrari team-mate Lewis Hamilton took over at the top in the final practice session at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin.
The most successful driver at the Texan circuit didn't clock the absolute fastest lap time of the hour, but he was credited with the fastest legal effort. Leclerc initially set the benchmark with a 1:35.810, only for the Monegasque's lap to be deleted for exceeding track limits at Turn 10.
That promoted Hamilton to P1 with a 1:35.893, edging out back-to-back race winner Max Verstappen by 0.168 seconds. Following the deletion of his best lap, Leclerc dropped to third, 0.234s adrift, with his fastest valid time recorded on medium compound tyres rather than softs.
Championship leader Andrea Kimi Antonelli also had his best lap scrubbed for track limits at Turn 9, leaving him fourth, 0.303s off Hamilton's benchmark. The Italian's deleted effort would have seen him slotted into second place ahead of Verstappen, just 0.123s behind Hamilton.
George Russell completed the top five, while Oscar Piastri, Nico Hülkenberg, Lando Norris, Pierre Gasly, and Isack Hadjar rounded out the top ten. Reigning world champion Norris was another driver to lose his quickest lap, which would have put the Briton between Antonelli and Russell.
Action at the United States Grand Prix, Round 18 of the 2026 Formula 1 season, resumes tonight with qualifying at the Circuit of the Americas.
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