Andrew Benson
BBC F1 correspondent in Austin

Image source, Getty Images

Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton edged Red Bull’s Max Verstappen as the Formula 1 teams completed final practice before qualifying at the United States Grand Prix.

On this weekend on which Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli has his first chance of clinching his first world title, the fight at the front between Ferrari, Red Bull and Mercedes appears to be close.

Antonelli will only become the youngest champion in history this weekend if he wins the race with team-mate George Russell lower than eighth and Hamilton lower than fourth.

Antonelli was ranked fifth fastest in final practice but he had a faster lap deleted for exceeding track limits at Turn Nine. Had it counted, he would have been second fastest ahead of Verstappen.

On legitimate times, Hamilton was 0.168 seconds ahead of the Dutchman with the seven-time champion’s team-mate Charles Leclerc third fastest from Russell.

The McLaren drivers were struggling to put a lap together, continuing to find their car difficult to drive. Lando Norris made mistakes on three consecutive laps as he ran this soft tyres towards the end of the session. His best attempt - on his third lap on the tyres - was good enough for fourth but he was also pinged for exceeding track limits at Turn Nine.

The world champion’s team-mate Oscar Piastri was sixth fastest ahead of the Audi of Nico Hulkenberg.

The track limits violations have stacked up across the trio of practice sessions at the Circuit of the Americas, so teams and drivers will be feeling slightly nervous when qualifying gets under way at 22:00 BST.

Ferrari topped every practice hour in Austin but Max Verstappen and Red Bull are waiting in the wings should they slip up. The Dutchman is aiming for a third consecutive pole position this weekend, while the Scuderia are searching for their first pole since the Hungarian Grand Prix in 2025.

We'll take a short pit stop now, and then come back and join us for quali build-up from 21:30.

See you in a bit!

Rosanna Tennant
5 Live F1 reporter in Austin

A clean sweep for Ferrari. I'm really intrigued about qualifying, it could be anyone's

11. Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls)

12. Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls)

13. Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi)

14. Oliver Bearman (Haas)

15. Franco Colapinto (Alpine)

16. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)

17. Esteban Ocon (Haas)

18. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)

19. Alex Albon (Williams)

20. Carlos Sainz (Williams)

21. Sergio Perez (Cadillac)

22. Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac)

Damon Hill
1996 world champion on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra in Austin

It looks like Ferrari have something the others don't and Red Bull didn't look able to match the Ferraris.

1. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) - 1:34.893

2. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) +0.168

3. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +0.234

4. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) +0.303

5. George Russell (Mercedes) +0.488

6. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) +0.638

7. Nico Hulkenberg (Audi) +0.698

8. Lando Norris (McLaren) +0.813

9. Pierre Gasly (Alpine) +1.011

10. Isack Hadjar (Red Bull) +1.037

Alex Albon: "He complains about traffic, gets in my way and then I'm completely off the track"

Damon Hill
1996 world champion on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra in Austin

Alex Albon was clearly trying to get out of the way as much as he could, he couldn't get further off the racing line if he tried.

Isack Hadjar: "What the **** was he doing?! Just sleeping on the racing line!"

There was a bit of late drama at the end of that session when Isack Hadjar suffers a lock-up and forces Alex Albon off the track at Cota. Hadjar is fuming on the team radio, but Albon feels the Frenchman was at fault.

Isack Hadjar: "Yeah now you have to check the floor. Anyways, I don't know where is my car. I don't know what's happening."

Isack Hadjar is just in the top 10 in third practice but the Frenchman is continuing his feedback on the difficulties with his car.

Red Bull team-mate Max Verstappen is pushing for a quicker lap time on his soft tyre, but the Dutchman has a big snap of oversteer on the exit of Turn 14 before twitching again at Turn 15.

Lewis Hamilton: "Bortoleto was just on the racing line in the braking zone."

Lewis Hamilton is on the radio to Ferrari to flag Audi's Gabriel Bortoleto on the racing line. The seven-time world champion was behind the Brazilian, who was slow-moving in the braking zone.

Hamilton still leads the session with a 1:34.893, but team-mate Charles Leclerc did have his quicker lap time deleted for track limits.

Rosanna Tennant
5 Live F1 reporter in Austin

Bit of work going on Max Verstappen's car down at Red Bull, a few mechanics just putting some finishing touches to the car. It looks like they're getting ready to send him back out, he's still in the car so it's nothing serious.

1. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) - 1:34.893

2. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) +0.168

3. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +0.234

4. George Russell (Mercedes) +0.488

5. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) +0.560

Max Verstappen is 0.168 seconds off the pace of Lewis Hamilton, but Charles Leclerc has put in a strong final sector to lead the timesheets with about 12 minutes to go.

But the replays show the Ferrari running wide off the track at Turn Nine, so that time in the 1:34s for Leclerc is deleted from the board, and he drops back down to third behind Verstappen and Hamilton.

Kimi Antonelli: "I got track limits..."

Engineer: "You we were doing so well."

He was on the limit, Kimi Antonelli, and now that top marker of 1:35.015 is wiped from the timesheets. He was over the line at Turn Nine and tells his engineer Pete Bonnington straight away.

Over at Red Bull, Max Verstappen is on the soft tyre and goes quickest, but Lewis Hamilton is flying in his Ferrari, banking a 1:34.893 to leapfrog the Dutchman on the same compound.