F1 Madness

Tag: free practice 3

  • Hamilton Fastest in Malaysia FP3, Red Bull Sniffing Close

    Hamilton Fastest in Malaysia FP3, Red Bull Sniffing Close

    Lewis Hamilton set the fastest time in the third and final practice session for the Malaysian Grand Prix.

    Hamilton set his best time of 1:34.434 on the soft tyre on his first timed run. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen split the Mercedes after a best time of 1:34.879, 0.445s off Hamilton’s time.

    Nico Rosberg set a time of 1:35.053 for P3. Despite a few more timed runs Rosberg was unable to improve on his time.

    Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen finished 4th fastest with a time of 1:35.150 just 0.02s faster than team-mate Sebastian Vettel.

    Daniel Ricciardo managed 6th fastest with a time of 1:35.461.

    Nico Hulkenberg was 7th fastest of the session ahead of Williams’ Valtteri Bottas in 8th. Carlos Sainz finished 9th fastest ahead of Felipe Massa in the second Williams.

    The session was relatively quiet in terms of incidents. Esteban Gutierrez spun at the much talked about final corner blocking the pit entrance. Sebastian Vettel also fell victim to the final corner after and spun at the final corner.

    Red Bull have shown good one-lap pace in Malaysia and will be aiming to split the Mercedes come qualifying. It will once again be a battle between the Mercedes for pole position.

    Free Practice 3 times:

    Pos. Driver Car Best Lap Gap Laps
    1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:34.434 – 16
    2 Max Verstappen Red Bull 1:34.879 +0.445s 14
    3 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:35.053 +0.619s 16
    4 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 1:35.150 +0.716s 15
    5 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1:35.170 +0.736s 14
    6 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull 1:35.461 +1.027s 22
    7 Nico Hulkenberg Force India 1:35.776 +1.342s 16
    8 Valtteri Bottas Williams 1:35.902 +1.468s 17
    9 Carlos Sainz Toro Rosso 1:36.222 +1.788s 18
    10 Felipe Massa Williams 1:36.227 +1.793s 20
    11 Sergio Perez Force India 1:36.259 +1.825s 15
    12 Jenson Button McLaren 1:36.363 +1.929s 11
    13 Esteban Gutierrez Haas 1:36.553 +2.119s 14
    14 Jolyon Palmer Renault 1:36.604 +2.170s 20
    15 Romain Grosjean Haas 1:36.687 +2.253s 15
    16 Kevin Magnussen Renault 1:36.741 +2.307s 19
    17 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso 1:36.752 +2.318s 20
    18 Marcus Ericsson Saube 1:36.765 +2.331s 19
    19 Felipe Nasr Sauber 1:37.106 +2.672s 18
    20 Esteban Ocon Manor 1:37.961 +3.527s 17
    21 Pascal Wehrlein Manor 1:38.089 +3.655s 13
    22 Fernando Alonso McLaren 1:41.199 +6.765s 15

     

    Photo credit: Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team

  • Raikkonen Fastest in 3rd Free Belgian GP Practice

    Raikkonen Fastest in 3rd Free Belgian GP Practice

    Kimi Raikkonen claimed the top spot on the time sheets at the third free practice session for the Belgian Grand Prix at the Circuit Spa-Francorchamps.

    Raikkonen set his best time of 1:47.974 on his second run on the super softs. Up until that point. Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo held the top spot also with a run on the super soft tyres.

    Ricciardo took the spot of second fastest 0..215s off the pace with a 1:48.189. Max Verstappen in the other Red Bull did not set a time due to a sensor problem on his gearbox.

    Sebastian Vettel was 3rd fastest with a 1:48.297, 0.323s off Raikkonen’s time. Vettel had a few issues with traffic but his timed lap didn’t seem to come together.

    In a better showing of form compared to Friday’s running Valtter Bottas was 4th fastest setting a 1:48.504.

    After running most of the session with the soft tyre with long run pace, Lewis Hamilton fitted the super soft tyres just before the end of the session and managed a time of 1:48.635 which put him 5th fastest. It was hard to tell whether Hamilton was just not pushing or the W07 was struggling with the high track temperatures. Mercedes’ Paddy Lowe confirmed that Hamilton will do the minimum during qualifying after Hamilton took on a 3rd power unit which effectively drops him another 25-places down the grid which brings his total grid drop total to 55-places.

    Nico Hulkenberg was 6th fastest showing some very good pace for Force India. Sergio Perez in the other Force India was 9th fastest for the session.

    Nico Rosberg could not get his lap together and managed 7th fastest. With the pressure on him this weekend, he needs a strong showing this weekend to close the gap to Hamilton and possibly take the lead in the constructors championship.

    Rounding out the top 10 was Romain Grosjean for Haas.

    With the times very close to each other Qualifying looks like it will become a very close fought battle. The top 9 were covered by 1 second.

    Pos. Driver Team Time Gap Laps
    1 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 1:47.974 – 11
    2 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull 1:48.189 +0.215 18
    3 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1:48.297 +0.323 12
    4 Valtteri Bottas Williams 1:48.504 +0.530 17
    5 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:48.635 +0.661 20
    6 Nico Hulkenberg Force India 1:48.739 +0.765 12
    7 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:48.742 +0.768 19
    8 Felipe Massa Williams 1:48.783 +0.809 21
    9 Sergio Perez Force India 1:48.915 +0.941 12
    10 Romain Grosjean Haas 1:49.272 +1.298 16
    11 Fernando Alonso McLaren 1:49.453 +1.479 9
    12 Esteban Gutierrez Haas 1:49.631 +1.657 16
    13 Jenson Button McLaren 1:49.665 +1.691 10
    14 Kevin Magnussen Renault 1:49.716 +1.742 11
    15 Pascal Wehrlein Manor 1:49.761 +1.787 15
    16 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso 1:50.023 +2.049 9
    17 Carlos Sainz Toro Rosso 1:50.078 +2.104 9
    18 Jolyon Palmer Renault 1:50.241 +2.267 11
    19 Felipe Nasr Sauber 1:50.420 +2.446 13
    20 Esteban Ocon Manor 1:50.693 +2.719 18
    21 Marcus Ericsson Sauber 1:51.319 +3.345 5
    – Max Verstappen Red Bull – – 2

     

    Photo credit: Scuderia Ferrari Formula One

  • Ferrari 1-2 in 3rd Free Practice for Austrian Grand Prix

    Ferrari 1-2 in 3rd Free Practice for Austrian Grand Prix

    Sebastian Vettel put Ferrari at the top of the time sheets at the end of the 3rd Free Practice session for the Austrian Grand Prix.

    In a session where teams were still finding the limits of their cars, Vettel put his SF16-H at the top of the time sheets early on in the session. He kept improving his time throughout. On his second stint on the ultra soft tyres he set a time of 1:07.098. His team mate Kimi Raikkonen set a 1:07.234, 0.136s off Vettel’s time.

    Lewis Hamilton locked up 3rd fastest with a 1:07.308. Mercedes seemed to have been struggling with the high track temps. Their initial running saw heavy graining and blistering on their tyres. Nico Rosberg crashed out of the session after a rear suspension wishbone failure at the exit of Turn 2. This sent the German nose first into the barrier which spun him around where the rear of his car made contact with the barrier as well. Rosberg was up on Vettel’s time through the first sector.

    After the session Mercedes confirmed that Rosberg would have to incur a 5-place grid drop for a new gearbox.

    The Red Bull pair of Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen finished 4th and 5th fastest respectively. The Williams pair finished 6th and 7th with Austria 2016_Rosberg FP3 CrashValtteri Bottas finishing ahead of Felipe Massa.

    Nico Hulkenberg finished 8th fastest for Force India showing strong pace for the Silverstone based team.

    McLaren, who chose not to run their radical new rear wing, finished 9th and 10th with Jenson Button finishing just ahead of Fernando Alonso.

    We’re building up to a very close qualifying with Ferrari stepping up their game with their token engine upgrade and with Mercedes slightly off the pace. Although Rosberg was very quick through the first sector before the crash it’s tough to predict what his final lap time would be. Mercedes have a tough task of repairing Rosberg’s car before qualifying. It is expected that they will have it repaired before qualifying but it will be touch and go.

    Both Vettel and Rosberg will drop 5-places down the grid after qualifying which should play into the hands of Hamilton, Raikkonen and the two Red Bulls.

    Pos Driver Car Time Gap Laps
    1 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1:07.098s – 20
    2 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 1:07.234s 0.136s 26
    3 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:07.308s 0.210s 20
    4 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull 1:07.639s 0.541s 22
    5 Max Verstappen Red Bull 1:07.761s 0.663s 22
    6 Valtteri Bottas Williams 1:07.814s 0.716s 23
    7 Felipe Massa Williams 1:07.831s 0.733s 27
    8 Nico Hulkenberg Force India 1:08.285s 1.187s 23
    9 Jenson Button McLaren 1:08.304s 1.206s 19
    10 Fernando Alonso McLaren 1:08.327s 1.229s 17
    11 Sergio Perez Force India 1:08.442s 1.344s 26
    12 Esteban Gutierrez Haas 1:08.475s 1.377s 22
    13 Pascal Wehrlein Manor 1:08.534s 1.436s 29
    14 Romain Grosjean Haas 1:08.550s 1.452s 21
    15 Kevin Magnussen Renault 1:08.569s 1.471s 31
    16 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso 1:08.786s 1.688s 32
    17 Jolyon Palmer Renault 1:08.939s 1.841s 27
    18 Carlos Sainz Toro Rosso 1:09.008s 1.910s 11
    19 Rio Haryanto Manor 1:09.116s 2.018s 28
    20 Marcus Ericsson Sauber 1:09.137s 2.039s 25
    21 Felipe Nasr Sauber 1:09.557s 2.459s 20
    22 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:10.959s 3.861s 16
  • Vettel Fastest in Third Bahrain GP Practice

    Vettel Fastest in Third Bahrain GP Practice

    Sebastian Vettel finished fastest of a Ferrari 1-2 in the third practice session for the Bahrain Grand Prix.

    Vettel went 0.040s faster than his team mate Kimi Raikkonen to set a 1:31.683 on the super soft tyres. Raikkonen, who was the fastest for a while after going faster than Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton on the soft tyres, set 1:31.723 on his best lap for the afternoon on the super soft tyres. Although the conditions were not representative of the qualifying session which will take place a little later, it does seem that Ferrari have found some pace after a very scrappy day yesterday.

    The two Mercedes drivers finished 4th and 5th with Rosberg ahead of Hamilton by o.044s. The Williams of Valtteri Bottas finished 5th fastest with Haas’ Romain Grosjean in a very respectable 6th with a 1:32.675 which is 1.399s off Vettel’s time.

    Daniil Kvyat finished 7th fastest for Red Bull ahead of Esteban Gutierrez in the other Haas car in 8th. Rounding out the top 10 were Felipe Massa in 9th and Daniel Ricciardo in 10th.

    After showing some strong pace yesterday during Free Practice 2 and finishing 3rd fastest, Jenson Button could only manage 13th fastest behind the Sauber of Marcus Ericsson in 11th and the Renault of Kevin Magnussen in 12th.

    After suffering with an oil leak at the start of the session Stoffel Vandoorne was able to get out for the final 30mins of the session and finished 0.040s off the pace of Button after posting a very good 1:33.744 on the super softs. It looks like the McLaren favors the cooler evening conditions and we may see them finish higher up in qualifying.

    The Toro Rosso’s of Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz finished down in 15th and 16th respetively. In 17th was Felipe Nasr in the Sauber.

    Force India ended their session in 18th and 19th with Nico Hulkenberg head of team-mate Sergio Perez. Jolyon Palmer finished his session down in 20th and picked up a puncture after the chequered flag dropped for the end of the session.

    The two Manor’s of Rio Haryanto and Pascal Wehrlein closed off the order in 21st and 22nd.

    Pos Driver Team Best Time Gap Laps
    1 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1:31.683 – 22
    2 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 1:31.723 0.040 13
    3 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:32.104 0.421 18
    4 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:32.160 0.477 14
    5 Valtteri Bottas Williams 1:32.675 0.992 18
    6 Romain Grosjean Haas 1:33.082 1.399 14
    7 Daniil Kvyat Red Bull 1:33.113 1.430 10
    8 Esteban Gutierrez Haas 1:33.337 1.654 14
    9 Felipe Massa Williams 1:33.363 1.680 18
    10 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull 1:33.519 1.836 20
    11 Marcus Ericsson Sauber 1:33.569 1.886 16
    12 Kevin Magnussen Renault 1:33.617 1.934 9
    13 Jenson Button McLaren 1:33.704 2.021 12
    14 Stoffel Vandoorne McLaren 1:33.744 2.061 11
    15 Max Verstappen Toro Rosso 1:33.778 2.095 20
    16 Carlos Sainz Toro Rosso 1:34.003 2.320 20
    17 Felipe Nasr Sauber 1:34.013 2.330 15
    18 Nico Hulkenberg Force India 1:34.128 2.445 16
    19 Sergio Perez Force India 1:34.281 2.598 15
    20 Jolyon Palmer Renault 1:34.424 2.741 9
    21 Rio Haryanto Manor 1:35.546 3.863 15
    22 Pascal Wehrlein Manor 1:35.724 4.041 16
  • 2015 Abu Dhabi GP: Rosberg Fastest in Third Practice

    2015 Abu Dhabi GP: Rosberg Fastest in Third Practice

    Nico Rosberg finished fastest in the 3rd Free Practice session for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

    Despite saying that he will be down on power this weekend. Rosberg set a time of 1:41.856 on the super soft tyres to go 0.281s faster than Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton. Hamilton struggled to get in a clean lap on the options after running wide at Turn 6. He managed to get close but seemed to be loosing time in the middle sectors.

    Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel managed 3rd fastest with Force India’s Sergio Perez finishing in 4th ahead of Kimi Raikkonen. Perez, who finished well in FP2, seems to have a good feel for the track and could pull a surprise in Qualifying.

    Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo ended the session in 6th place. Team-mate Daniil Kvyat did not set a time in the session after an electrical problem was discovered on his car. The Red Bull mechanics managed to get him back out on track, but the problem persisted. He was then told that they will not be able to fix the problem.

    Nico Hulkenberg was 7th in the other Force India ahead of the Williams pair of Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas in P9 and P10 respectively.

    Carlos Sainz in the Toro Rosso had a good session and was up to 6th place after all the runs on the soft tyre were completed. He set his best time of 1:43.429 on the super soft tyres which earned him 10th. Jenson Button in the Mclaren was 11th.

    Pastor Maldonado ended the session in 12th ahead of Sauber’s Felipe Nasr in 13th, Toro Rosso’s Max Verstappen in 14th and team-mate Romain Grosjean in 15th who complained that the car was undrivable for most of the session.

    Fernando Alonso was down in 16th place with Marcus Ericsson in 17th. The two Manor cars of Stevens and Merhi in 18th and 19th respectively.

    Pos. Driver Team Best Time Gap
    1 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:41.856 –
    2 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:42.137 0.281
    3 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1:42.185 0.329
    4 Sergio Perez Force India 1:42.448 0.592
    5 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 1:42.627 0.771
    6 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull 1:42.726 0.870
    7 Nico Hulkenberg Force India 1:42.859 1.003
    8 Felipe Massa Williams 1:43.173 1.317
    9 Valtteri Bottas Williams 1:43.429 1.383
    10 Carlos Sainz Toro Rosso 1:43.429 1.573
    11 Jenson Button McLaren 1:43.508 1.652
    12 Pastor Maldonado Lotus 1:43.680 1.824
    13 Felipe Nasr Sauber 1:43.718 1.862
    14 Max Verstappen Toro Rosso 1:43.826 1.970
    15 Romain Grosjean Lotus 1:43.928 2.072
    16 Fernando Alonso McLaren 1:44.014 2.158
    17 Marcus Ericsson Sauber 1:47.283 2.469
    18 Will Stevens Manor 1:47.283 5.427
    19 Roberto Merhi Manor 1:47.520 5.664
    20 Daniil Kvyat Red Bull No Time –
  • F1 2014: Free Practice 3 – Hamilton Leads the Way In Monaco

    F1 2014: Free Practice 3 – Hamilton Leads the Way In Monaco

    The Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton ended the third and final practice for the Monaco grand prix fastest.

    Teams are drivers were left with a lot of work to do on Saturday morning as they played catch-up after Thursday’s washed out second free practice session. The Mercedes pairing of Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg traded fastest times throughout the session.

    However, it was Red Bull Racing’s Daniel Ricciardo who sprung the biggest surprise. The Australian set a laptime of 1:16.808 on his SuperSoft tyre run to split the two Silver Arrrows. Most signficantly, Ricciardo set his fastest time amidst a relatively long run. Teammate Sebastian Vettel, caught up in traffic during his attempt on the SuperSoft rubber, was fourth fastest.

    Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen ended the hour long session in fifth and sixth respectively. The Ferrari however does not look like matching the pace of the front-running teams around the streets of Monte Carlo. BBC commentator and three-time Le Mans winner Alan McNish reckons that the Ferrari looks more like a “bucking bronco than a prancing horse.”

    While SuperSoft tyre was the obvious choice for the qualifying simulation runs; it was significant to note that the Pirelli tyres took up to three laps to come into their own and deliver a lap time. This will be an especially significant issue during qualifying as drivers and teams will have to guard against getting caught in traffic.

     

  • F1 2013: Free Practice 3 Report – Brazilian GP

    F1 2013: Free Practice 3 Report – Brazilian GP

    Red Bull Racing’s Mark Webber topped the timing sheets at the end of the third free practice session ahead of the 2013 Brazilian grand prix.

    The rain soaked session took quite a while to spark into life and it was Sauber’s Esteban Gutierrez that topped the timing sheets in the initial part of the third free practice session.

    Condition around Interlagos were incredibly tricky given the circuit’s poor drainage system which led to a big amount of standing water on the circuit. Nevertheless, few drivers ventured out in the wet condition for the sole reason of saving the green side-walled Intermediate tyres for the all important qualifying session.

    Eventually conditions improved enough for the intermediate tyres to be tried out and Mark Webber was the first of the drivers to do so. Webber seemed to get the best of condition and set the overall fastest time of the session. Sebastian Vettel ended in session in 17th place while Mercedes and Ferrari ended their program of running ten minutes before the chequered flag signalled the end of practice. Jenson Button did not set a representative time.

    Full times below.