2026 F1 United States GP: Practice Complete, Hamilton Tops FP3 in Austin
The 2026 Formula One United States Grand Prix continued Friday and Saturday at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. Practice sessions saw strong performances from Ferrari and Mercedes. Charles Leclerc dominated Friday practice, topping both FP1 and FP2 sessions. However, Lewis Hamilton claimed the fastest time in FP3 with a lap of one minute 34.893 seconds, ahead of Red Bull's Max Verstappen by 0.168 seconds and Ferrari teammate Leclerc by 0.234 seconds. Kimi Antonelli, leading the 2026 championship, finished fourth in FP3. McLaren faced competitiveness challenges during practice. The weekend marks the return to traditional format after three years of sprint races in Austin. Qualifying was scheduled for Saturday afternoon to determine Sunday's race grid. The event is Round 18 of the season with six races remaining.
Key facts
- Lewis Hamilton topped FP3 with a time of 1:34.893, 0.168 seconds ahead of Max Verstappen
- Charles Leclerc topped both FP1 and FP2, completing a perfect Friday for Ferrari
- Kimi Antonelli finished fourth in FP3 while leading the 2026 championship by 102 points over George Russell
- The 2026 US Grand Prix returned to traditional 3-practice-session format, ending Austin's 3-year sprint weekend run
- Qualifying scheduled for Saturday October 24 at 16:00 local time, with 56-lap race on Sunday October 25
Limits of this briefing
Formula One racing coverage is primarily factual sports reporting without political dimensions. Sources found were motor sports news outlets covering live practice sessions with technical detail. No significant political or ideological perspectives exist in F1 coverage for this type of event.
Sources
- Motorsport.com: F1 United States GP live commentary and updates - Ferrari leads FP1 Centre
- Autosport.com: F1 United States GP live commentary and updates - Hamilton leads FP3 Centre
- GPFans.com: F1 Results Today: US Grand Prix final practice times and positions Centre
- RacingNews365.com: 2026 F1 United States Grand Prix - Austin Free Practice 2 results Centre
- Formula1.com: United States Grand Prix 2026 - F1 Race Centre