Perez tops final practice for the U.S. Grand Prix

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Formula 1 F1 – United States Grand Prix – Circuit of the Americas, Austin, Texas, USA – October 23, 2021 Red Bulls Sergio Perez during practice REUTERS / Mike Blake

October 23 (Reuters) – Red Bull’s Sergio Perez led the final practice session for the US Grand Prix in Austin on Saturday after Formula 1 title rivals Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton canceled faster laps for running far was.

The Mexican Perez, a local fan favorite with no home driver on the grid, lapped the Circuit of the Americas in hot conditions with a time of one minute of 34.701 seconds. He was also the fastest in Friday practice.

Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz finished second on the timesheet in 1: 34.805, followed by Red Bull leaders Verstappen and McLaren’s Lando Norris.

Seven-time world champion Hamilton finished sixth for Mercedes, team-mate Valtteri Bottas fifth and 0.518 slower than Perez. Bottas has a starting place penalty of five places for an engine change.

Hamilton and Verstappen drove to the top in quick succession on the soft tires, but canceled the laps because the track limits were exceeded. Verstappen’s time was about a tenth faster than the British’s.

Verstappen leads the overall standings six points ahead of Hamilton in six races remaining.

Qualifying will follow later on Saturday. Mercedes has held pole position on the Texas track for the last six editions of the race.

The organizers expected around 140,000 fans for the race on Sunday, after 120,000 on Friday and Saturday, in front of the largest audience of the season.

After his fourth engine of the season, alpine double world champion Fernando Alonso joins a growing list of drivers who have received a starting place penalty for exceeding their engine allocation.

McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo, the seventh fastest in the session, was already having fun on the track before practice when the Australian was doing laps in the NASCAR Chevrolet Monte Carlo of the late Dale Earnhardt Sr.

The test in a car owned by team principal Zak Brown was the reward for the double victory at the Italian Grand Prix in Monza in September, McLaren’s first victory since 2012.

Reporting by Alan Baldwin in London, editing by Ken Ferris

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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