Sebastian Vettel driving his Red Bull RB8 during practice for the US F1 GP (2012)
Sebastian Vettel was again the fastest driver this practice, followed by teammate Mark Webber and 2012 F1 drivers title contender Fernando Alonso.
Highest top speed: 322 km/h by Sergio Perez in his Sauber C31 Ferrari.
Circuit: Austin Circuit of The Americas
Weather: Dry
Track temperature: 30°C
Air temperature: 20°C
Wind Speed: 4.6 mps
Wind direction: North-West
Air Pressure: 1007.1 mBar
Humidity: 18%
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Lap Time | Laps |
| 1 | 1 | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull Racing-Renault | 1:37.718 | 17 |
| 2 | 2 | Mark Webber | Red Bull Racing-Renault | 1:38.475 | 36 |
| 3 | 5 | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari | 1:38.483 | 35 |
| 4 | 4 | Lewis Hamilton | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:38.748 | 31 |
| 5 | 3 | Jenson Button | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:38.786 | 32 |
| 6 | 6 | Felipe Massa | Ferrari | 1:39.029 | 33 |
| 7 | 8 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 1:39.448 | 32 |
| 8 | 19 | Bruno Senna | Williams-Renault | 1:39.531 | 38 |
| 9 | 14 | Kamui Kobayashi | Sauber-Ferrari | 1:39.653 | 36 |
| 10 | 7 | Michael Schumacher | Mercedes | 1:40.115 | 30 |
| 11 | 9 | Kimi Räikkönen | Lotus-Renault | 1:40.166 | 32 |
| 12 | 18 | Pastor Maldonado | Williams-Renault | 1:40.230 | 35 |
| 13 | 10 | Romain Grosjean | Lotus-Renault | 1:40.286 | 32 |
| 14 | 15 | Sergio Perez | Sauber-Ferrari | 1:40.326 | 35 |
| 15 | 16 | Daniel Ricciardo | STR-Ferrari | 1:40.435 | 30 |
| 16 | 17 | Jean-Eric Vergne | STR-Ferrari | 1:40.516 | 32 |
| 17 | 12 | Nico Hulkenberg | Force India-Mercedes | 1:40.700 | 34 |
| 18 | 11 | Paul di Resta | Force India-Mercedes | 1:41.430 | 35 |
| 19 | 20 | Heikki Kovalainen | Caterham-Renault | 1:42.476 | 38 |
| 20 | 24 | Timo Glock | Marussia-Cosworth | 1:42.652 | 33 |
| 21 | 21 | Vitaly Petrov | Caterham-Renault | 1:42.846 | 38 |
| 22 | 25 | Charles Pic | Marussia-Cosworth | 1:43.538 | 38 |
| 23 | 22 | Pedro de la Rosa | HRT-Cosworth | 1:44.453 | 16 |
| 24 | 23 | Narain Karthikeyan | HRT-Cosworth | 1:45.114 | 20 |