Lewis Hamilton Tops Final Practice in Austin Ahead of Qualifying

UPDATE - follow-up to United States Grand Prix: Formula One qualifying – live: Lewis Hamilton led the final practice session at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin with a lap time of 1 minute 34.893 seconds. He finished 0.168 seconds ahead of Max Verstappen and 0.234 seconds faster than Charles Leclerc.

Practice Results

Hamilton's time marked the fastest legal lap of the weekend so far, completing a practice sweep for Ferrari ahead of qualifying. Leclerc had earlier missed out on setting the top time after having his best lap deleted for exceeding track limits at turn nine. McLaren team principal Zak Brown noted that Ferrari appears to be the team to beat due to their strong upgrades. Meanwhile, tracking of track limits showed Kimi Antonelli also running wide over the white lines.

Context

Qualifying sessions in motor racing determine the starting grid order for the main race, where track limits are strictly enforced by race officials using white lines at the edges of the circuit. Teams frequently bring aerodynamic upgrade packages to late-season races in order to gain extra pace and improve handling on bumpy track layouts.