A wet start with a rapidly drying track with 15mins left in session has left a few more unknowns after the 3rd free practice session for the 2018 Australian Grand Prix.

It meant that the Ferrari’s who switched to the ultra soft tyres before the end of the session topped the time sheet with Sebastian Vettel setting a session best time of 1:26.067 and team mate Kimi Raikkonnen a further 2.432s off Vettel’s time with a 1:28.499. Marcus Ericsson in the Sauber was the only other driver to post a lap on dry weather tyres, finished third fastest with a time of 1:28.890.

The session started wet with a few initial installation laps on the full wets. McLaren’s Fernando Alonso went straight out on the intermediates.

The Mercedes pair were out on intermediates and traded fastest laps as usual. Force India on the other hand saw no value in taking part in the session and both their drivers were confined to the garage.

There was some trouble for Lance Stroll but the team did a great job to get him out after a gearbox issue saw him sit out part of the session.

Vettel’s lap will give Mercedes something to think about even though it was no where near the times set yesterday in the dry. Red Bull who were hoping for rain didn’t quite show their hand in the wet. Qualifying is expected to be dry where Mercedes is expected to be clear ahead. It’s a question of who is going to line up behind them.

INITIAL CLASSIFICATION – END OF FP3

A drying track and some good timing made for a jumbled final practice 🔀#AusGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/GHuLvWFCLg

— Formula 1 (@F1) March 24, 2018