This 3rd practice Sebastian Vettel again was on the top of the charts this practice, but his teammate Mark Webber wasn’t 2nd this time. This time Lewis Hamilton followed as 2nd fastest and a bit suprising Pastor Maldonado was 3rd quickest.
Highest top speed: 320 km/h by Kamui Kobayashi in his Sauber C31 Ferrari.
Circuit: Austin Circuit of The Americas
Weather: Dry
Track temperature: 15°C
Air temperature: 17°C
Wind Speed: 1.3 mps
Wind direction: North-East
Air Pressure: 1011.0 mBar
Humidity: 34%
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Lap Time | Laps |
| 1 | 1 | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull Racing-Renault | 1:36.490 | 18 |
| 2 | 4 | Lewis Hamilton | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:36.748 | 20 |
| 3 | 18 | Pastor Maldonado | Williams-Renault | 1:37.001 | 21 |
| 4 | 5 | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari | 1:37.180 | 21 |
| 5 | 8 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 1:37.247 | 24 |
| 6 | 6 | Felipe Massa | Ferrari | 1:37.262 | 27 |
| 7 | 2 | Mark Webber | Red Bull Racing-Renault | 1:37.298 | 18 |
| 8 | 15 | Sergio Perez | Sauber-Ferrari | 1:37.415 | 20 |
| 9 | 12 | Nico Hulkenberg | Force India-Mercedes | 1:37.495 | 20 |
| 10 | 3 | Jenson Button | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:37.538 | 20 |
| 11 | 19 | Bruno Senna | Williams-Renault | 1:37.569 | 21 |
| 12 | 7 | Michael Schumacher | Mercedes | 1:37.760 | 21 |
| 13 | 9 | Kimi Räikkönen | Lotus-Renault | 1:37.765 | 26 |
| 14 | 14 | Kamui Kobayashi | Sauber-Ferrari | 1:37.953 | 23 |
| 15 | 16 | Daniel Ricciardo | STR-Ferrari | 1:38.547 | 23 |
| 16 | 11 | Paul di Resta | Force India-Mercedes | 1:38.653 | 22 |
| 17 | 10 | Romain Grosjean | Lotus-Renault | 1:38.753 | 11 |
| 18 | 17 | Jean-Eric Vergne | STR-Ferrari | 1:39.689 | 12 |
| 19 | 24 | Timo Glock | Marussia-Cosworth | 1:40.407 | 23 |
| 20 | 21 | Vitaly Petrov | Caterham-Renault | 1:40.753 | 19 |
| 21 | 20 | Heikki Kovalainen | Caterham-Renault | 1:41.011 | 19 |
| 22 | 25 | Charles Pic | Marussia-Cosworth | 1:41.466 | 19 |
| 23 | 22 | Pedro de la Rosa | HRT-Cosworth | 1:43.563 | 21 |
| 24 | 23 | Narain Karthikeyan | HRT-Cosworth | 1:44.043 | 23 |