Hamilton fastest in rain hit third practice

F1 Grand Prix, GP USA, Circuit of The Americas

As rain continued to have its effect on running at COTA, Lewis Hamilton emerged fastest during final practice, having set the fastest time when conditions were at their best.

Moderate rain in the beginning of the session made it worthy to come out immediately. Conditions and times improved gradually during the first 20 minutes of the session, before more intense rain arrived to make conditions worse again.

Even though officials mandated full wets during the entire session, Nico Rosberg still was a little bit too optimistic in the early stages of the session, going off the track and diving into the tyre barriers at Turn 3. He did manage to return to the pits where mechanics fitted his car with a new nose to allow him to continue running.

Later on, when conditions became worse in the second half of the session, many drivers went off, but none with car damage.