F1-EL3: Lewis Hamilton, proof in three

And one, and two, and three. Lewis Hamilton achieved a hat-trick in Austin, Texas, by winning the final free practice session of the 2014 United States Grand Prix. Mercedes largely dominated the proceedings by setting a time of 1'37"107, enough to push his teammate Nico Rosberg back by almost nine tenths. The Mercedes German, however, encountered a small brake problem during the session. These are once again the Williams who lead the hunt behind the Silver Arrows with Felipe Massa 3rd and Valtteri Bottas 4th, less than half a second from Rosberg’s W05 Hybrid.

Fernando Alonso place Ferrari F14 T in 5th position just ahead Daniel Ricciardo, long leader during the stints on medium tires, but who had to bow to the Mercedes when switching to soft tires. Nico Hulkenberg (Force India) took 7th place just ahead of the astonishing Adrian Sutil at the wheel of a Sauber C33 in great spirit for these EL3. Kimi Räikkönen (Ferrari) and Jenson Button (McLaren) complete the top 10.

On the tricolor side, Romain Grosjean ranks 13th at the wheel of his Lotus E22, just over three tenths from the top 10. A more difficult session for Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso), only credited with the penultimate time, just ahead Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) who did not force himself to preserve his engine. Qualifying will begin at 19 p.m. French time and will be followed live on our website.

Photos from the United States Grand Prix can be viewed here.