US Grand Prix: Lewis Hamilton edges out title rival in FP3

Hamilton, who was fastest in both sessions at the Circuit of the Americas yesterday, finished quickest again on Saturday morning.

The 32-year-old Englishman topped the time sheets, with his best effort of one minute and 34.478 seconds marginally quicker than Vettel's fastest lap.

Vettel had struggled for pace in practice on Friday, but the four-time champion finished just nine hundredths of a second behind Hamilton to suggest he may be able to take the challenge to his rival later in qualifying.

Hamilton, a winner of four of the five grands prix staged in America, has established a 59-point lead over Vettel in the title race with just four rounds remaining.

He will be crowned champion here on Sunday if he takes the chequered flag and Vettel fails to finish inside the top five. Sky Bet make such an eventuality a 7/1 shot but Hamilton is firmly odds-on at 4/9 for the race win.

Hamilton's Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas was third in the order in final practice with Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen fourth and Max Verstappen fifth for Red Bull.

Dutchman Verstappen however, is set to start tomorrow's race from the back of the field after being penalised with a 15-place grid drop following an engine change.

Double world champion Fernando Alonso finished 13th for McLaren, one spot ahead of his team-mate Stoffel Vandoorne, while New Zealander Brendon Hartley, making his Formula One debut this weekend, finished 15th.

Hamilton and the rest of the grid will now face a four-hour wait until they resume battle after the sport's American owners took the unprecedented step of moving qualifying back to accommodate a Justin Timberlake concert at the circuit on Saturday evening.

The session to determine the grid will now get under way at 4pm local time - 10pm in the UK - rather than the usual 2pm (8pm UK) start time.

Practice 3 timesheet

1. Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) Mercedes GP 1min 34.478secs
2. Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Ferrari 1:34.570
3. Valtteri Bottas (Fin) Mercedes GP 1:34.69
4. Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 1:34.755
5. Max Verstappen (Ned) Red Bull 1:35.103
6. Felipe Massa (Bra) Williams 1:35.346
7. Nico Hulkenberg (Ger) Renault 1:35.608
8. Carlos Sainz (Spa) Renault 1:35.650
9. Daniel Ricciardo (Aus) Red Bull 1:35.723
10. Sergio Perez (Mex) Force India 1:35.802
11. Esteban Ocon (Fra) Force India 1:35.965
12. Lance Stroll (Can) Williams 1:36.118
13. Fernando Alonso (Spa) McLaren 1:36.239
14. Stoffel Vandoorne (Bel) McLaren 1:36.599
15. Brendon Hartley (Nzl) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:36.818
16. Kevin Magnussen (Den) Haas F1 1:37.271
17. Marcus Ericsson (Swe) Sauber-Ferrari 1:37.319
18. Pascal Wehrlein (Ger) Sauber-Ferrari 1:37.807
19. Romain Grosjean (Fra) Haas F1 1:37.891
20. Daniil Kvyat (Rus) Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:38.500

Related Formula One links

• Sky Bet's Formula One odds
• F1 2017 schedule, results & standings
• US Grand Prix guide