Sergio Perez ended fastest as lap time deletions led to an unrepresentative order in Practice 3 at the United States Grand Prix.
Both Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton would set faster times than the Mexican’s best of 1m34.701s, with Max a tenth quicker than his championship rival.
However, those times would not stand as both fractionally exceeded track limits, leaving Perez on top for the second session in a row.
A spicy Quali awaits ? Checo tops FP3 with a 1:34.701 and Max is P3 with a 1:34.912 ? #USGP ?? pic.twitter.com/YDx0LkP89e
— Red Bull Racing Honda (@redbullracing) October 23, 2021
Of the top two teams, Red Bull do appear slightly the happier at this stage heading into qualifying, with Hamilton unhappy with the rear end on his Mercedes.
Valtteri Bottas also had a spin midway through the session on the harsh bumps in Sector 1 at Circuit of the Americas.
Not far behind are Ferrari and McLaren, with Carlos Sainz ending up second fastest and Lando Norris fourth and potentially ready to pounce on any issues for those in front.
Daniel Ricciardo was seventh, while Charles Leclerc was another to have his best time deleted for track limits.
Pierre Gasly took eighth and Esteban Ocon rounded out the top 10 for Alpine.
Sebastian Vettel and George Russell were 11th and 12th but will both start Sunday’s race at the back of the grid, while Nicholas Latifi appears to be in battle with the two Alfa Romeo’s.
UPDATE ?
Fernando will have a new engine for the rest of this weekend, following the installation of a 4th power unit taking him beyond the permitted season allocation.All components of the power unit will be brand new for qualifying and the race.#USGP pic.twitter.com/GmF7p1Ss1l
— Alpine F1 Team (@AlpineF1Team) October 23, 2021
Fernando Alonso will join the Aston Martin and Williams at the back after taking his own engine penalty.
That shall promote the Haas’ up the order but they remain the slowest cars, with Nikita Mazepin not managing a clean lap all session.
