Japanese GP: Free Practice 3 - Re-Cap & Times

   

JAPANESE GRAND PRIX - FREE PRACTICE #3

    It was a cloudy final practice session at the Suzuka circuit and while Rosberg topped the session with a 1:32.092, it wasn't Hamilton who was in 2nd. It was Ricciardo, only 2 tenths off of Roberg's pace. Vettel, Verstappen and Raikkonen completed the top 5, while Hamilton finished in 7th.

    Due to the dampness of the track, most teams waited until the later half of the session to send out their drivers. While the wet patches didn't cause any big issues, it was the soft tyre that they wanted to set their times on, not a harder compound.

    Carlos Sainz had a troublesome session after a power unit issue hampered his cars performance. His final time put him in 22nd, with a 1:56.323. His team-mate, Kvyat, didn't have the best of sessions either and finished in 14th, after reporting problems with the car in the previous two session.

    Pascal Wehrlein had a gearbox change and will take a 5-Place-Grid-Penalty for Sunday's race. Sebastian Vettel has a grid penalty as well and will move back 3 places on the grid.

TIMES:

1. Nico Rosberg - 1:32.092 / Mercedes-Mercedes

2. Daniel Ricciardo - 1:32.394 / Red Bull-TAG-HEUER

3. Sebastian Vettel - 1:32.731 / Ferrari-Ferrari

4. Max Verstappen - 1:32.784 / Red Bull-TAG-HEUER

5. Kimi Raikkonen - 1:33.011 / Ferrari-Ferrari

6. Felipe Massa - 1:33.271 / Williams-Mercedes

7. Lewis Hamilton - 1:33.284 / Mercedes-Mercedes 

8. Jolyon Palmer - 1:33.639 / Renault-Renault

9. Kevin Magnussen - 1:33.639 / Renault-Renault

10. Nico Hulkenberg - 1:33.646 / Force India-Mercedes

11. Fernando Alonso - 1:33.714 / McLaren-Honda

12. Esteban Gutierrez - 1:33.787 / Haas-Ferrari

13. Valtteri Bottas - 1:33.865 / Williams-Mercedes

14. Sergio Perez - 1:33.922 / Force India-Mercedes

15. Daniil Kvyat - 1:34.037 / Toro Rosso-Ferrari

16. Romain Grosjean - 1:34.272 / Haas-Ferrari

17. Felipe Nasr - 1:34.388 / Sauber-Ferrari

18. Marcus Ericsson - 1:34.544 / Sauber-Ferrari

19. Jenson Button - 1:34.548 / McLaren-Honda

20. Esteban Ocon - 1:35.230 / Manor-Mercedes

21. Pascal Wehrlein - 1:37.256 / Manor-Mercedes

22. Carlos Sainz - 1:56.323 / Toro Rosso-Ferrari

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Article Written By: Amy Hawk

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