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United States GP
F1 United States GP Live Commentary and Updates - FP3 & Qualifying
Saturday's F1 action from the Circuit of the Americas ahead of the US GP
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The 2022 F1 world title might be decided after Max Verstappen clinched the drivers’ crown in Japan last time out, but there’s still plenty at stake and many talking points both off and on the track.
Red Bull can clinch the F1 world constructors’ title at the Circuit of the Americas if it outscores Ferrari by 19 points this weekend, while the team is under the spotlight following its breach of the F1 cost cap and what potential penalties, if any, could follow.
Elsewhere, Charles Leclerc and Sergio Perez will battle for the runner-up spot in the drivers’ standings, with just a point separating the pair with four races to go.
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A little snap on the exit of the final corner for Leclerc might have been the difference there, "A very messy lap," Leclerc says.
Stopwatch
Verstappen goes top with a 1m36.223s, and Leclerc is a scant 0.01s away with his 1m36.233s.
"You're maybe pushing the braking zone too hard into Turn 1," Verstappen is told as he goes too deep into the opening corner. He makes it work on the next time around, however.
Seventh for Bottas on that run, as a few drivers look to get their preparation for qualifying underway. Schumacher's also finally on-track after his repairs.
Hamilton went quickest in the first sector on his latest lap, but a couple of wide moments put a pin on his hopes of getting to the top of the times. He took the IndyCar line through the penultimate corner...
This time, Russell gets a clean lap in and posts a 1m37.064s to go sixth - half a second away from Perez's best.
Russell set up for a lap on the softs, but immediately had a hefty snap on the exit of the first corner - putting a damper on a fast run almost immediately. Maybe a bit eager on the throttle, but he kept it in the right direction at least.
Ricciardo's brakes appear to be sorted, so the Australian's back on the road and sets the 14th-best time.
With less than 30 minutes on the clock, the top 10 looks like this: Perez, Hamilton, Verstappen, Leclerc, Sainz, Alonso, Vettel, Ocon, Stroll and Russell.
More on the grid penalties to Leclerc and Alonso here: https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/leclerc-gets-10-place-grid-drop-for-us-gp-after-engine-and-turbo-change/10388540/
Stopwatch
Hamilton hurls his Mercedes to the top of the times with a 1m36.688s, but for a fleeting moment as Perez goes a tenth quicker.
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Vettel's been able to get up to sixth, splitting the two Alpines on the timing board. Meanwhile, Ricciardo is told his brakes look normal on the data, but he says it feels like "it's at the end of travel".
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"Something wrong with the brake pedal," Ricciardo reports. He'll be hoping McLaren can stamp that out in the pits.
Leclerc reports that the soft boots are only good enough for one lap, and does a 1m36.765s - 0.06s off Verstappen's best. He was over 0.25s down in sector two, but found a nice chunk of time in the final sector.
Sainz meanwhile goes up to second with a 1m36.894s, just under two tenths of Verstappen's current benchmark.
Breaking news
Leclerc and Alonso will get grid penalties for tomorrow, with a new internal combustion engine and turbo for Leclerc and just the ICE for Alonso.
Hamilton sets his first timed lap of the session, which comes in at a 1m37.934s to go fifth. Alonso, however, relegates his former team-mate down a position as he goes up to P4.
Stopwatch
Meanwhile, Perez goes top with a 1m37.338s and, although Leclerc beats his time, Verstappen overhauls the pair of them with a 1m36.706s.
Schumacher got back to the pits, so that's reassuring. "We know what we need to do to fix it," Schumacher is told.
Ocon and Russell move into fifth and sixth place on the timing boards, as Bottas improves to close up on the pair. He remains seventh, but it's a better seventh...
There's a slow Schumacher. "I can't box," he says, as he's told to go slow and trundle back the pitlane.
Stopwatch
Leclerc then posts a 1m37.471s to go top, as Verstappen then does a 1m37.536s to go P2.
Zhou and Bottas hence kick us off with times, but Perez does a 1m37.613s for the early benchmark to outpace Sainz too.
Green flag
And here we go, FP3 is away! Zhou and Bottas are first on the scene.
Nice and warm in Austin, nearly 29 degrees C, with almost 40 degrees on track. It's quite windy too - you can tell by the buffeting flags.
10 minutes until FP3 kicks off, consider this your official warning!
By way of some COTA stats: Hamilton has won five times at the Texan circuit, while Vettel, Bottas, Raikkonen and Verstappen have all won once. Only one of those four is likely to become a repeat winner.
In FP1, Robert Shwartzman was 16th fastest from 2021 IndyCar champ Alex Palou, with Theo Pourchaire and Logan Sargeant behind them.
Let's have a recap from yesterday - Ferrari duo Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc headed FP1 and FP2 respectively, while four drivers made FP1 debuts on Friday.
Breaking news
Hello everyone, and welcome to the Autosport Live feed for Saturday's US Grand Prix sessions! FP3 is coming your way soon, so stay tuned.
By: autosport.com
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