Hamilton keeps Ferrari ahead in final U.S. GP practice

Lewis Hamilton completed a Ferrari sweep of practice at the U.S. Grand Prix after teammate Charles Leclerc had his quickest lap deleted for exceeding track limits.

Hamilton set the pre-qualifying benchmark at 1m34.893s with a purple middle sector, becoming the only drive of the weekend so far to dip beneath the 95s mark. Leclerc, who had topped both Friday sessions, briefly rotated into top spot with a time 0.083s quicker, but he had the lap deleted for running off the track at Turn 9.

That lap was one of 17 competitive times – and more than 40 in total – deleted through the session, hinting at what could be a key challenge for drivers in qualifying later today.

The deletion demoted Leclerc to third behind Max Verstappen, whose best time was 1m35.061s with a purple time in the first split.

Kimi Antonelli, however, could have been second had he kept his Mercedes inside the white lines. Antonelli’s fastest time was good enough to beat Verstappen by 0.01s, but he exceeded track limits at Turn 9. A follow-up lap just before the end of the session moved him up to fourth, 0.303s off the pace. Teammate George Russell followed, a further 0.185s adrift.

Oscar Piastri led the way for McLaren but was 0.638s off the pace, ahead of Audi’s Nico Hulkenberg, who was an impressive 0.698s adrift. Hulkenberg will see the stewards after the session along with Lance Stroll over a potential pit lane infringement,

Lando Norris struggled to string together a clean lap, abandoning his first two attempts on his final set of softs after mistakes and then flying off the track at Turn 9 on a lap that would have put him fifth in the final order. The deletion left him eighth and 0.813s off the pace.

Pierre Gasly was ninth, more than a second adrift of Hamilton, while a frustrated Isack Hadjar scrambled to 10th, 1.037s off the pace, in the second Red Bull Racing car, the Frenchman still struggling with balance.

Racing Bulls teammates Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad followed in 11th and 12th ahead of Gabriel Bortoleto, who will see the stewards for impeding Hamilton at the first turn.

Oliver Bearman was 14th ahead of Franco Colapinto, Fernando Alonso, Esteban Ocon and Stroll.

Williams teammates Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz were more than 2.7s off the pace, ahead of only Cadillac duo Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas.

RESULTS to follow