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

US GRAND PRIX - FREE PRACTICE #3

    Ahead of the final practice session of the US GP weekend, Toro Rosso made the announcement that Daniil Kvyat would indeed stay with the team for 2017, despite many rumours that he was possibly headed to partner Sergio Perez at Force India.

    Overnight, Mercedes broke curfew to replace Lewis Hamilton's entire fuel system. However, during the season, each team gets two exceptions to break curfew and Mercedes has not used either until now, so no penalty will be taken. Neither Mercedes driver led the session this time around. Instead it was Max Verstappen taking the top spot with a 1:36.766. Daniel Ricciardo came close by finishing in 2nd with a 1:37.032. Raikkonen, Hamilton and Rosberg completed the top 5.

    Carlos Sainz experienced two separate punctures during the session, with the first being his rear-right tyre. He came into the pits to change the tyre, but only a few laps later, his rear-left ended up with a puncture as well. The team then brought the car into the garage for checks. Sainz finished in the session in 15th with a 1:38.710.

    The session was briefly Red-Flagged after Pascal Wehrlein spun and got stranded in the gravel trap. While it was a minor spin and he was uninjured, it was session over for the young German driver. He ended the session in 22nd with a 1:41.427.

    At the end of the session, Sebastian Vettel came into the pits, reporting a loss of power and that he was stuck in 5th gear. There was mention of a possible gearbox issue. Vettel, however was able to complete Qualifying later on without a gearbox change.

TIMES:

1. Max Verstappen - 1:36.766 / Red Bull-TAG-HEUER

2. Daniel Ricciardo - 1:37.032 / Red Bull-TAG-HEUER

3. Kimi Raikkonen - 1:37.284 / Ferrari-Ferrari

4. Lewis Hamilton - 1:37.483 / Mercedes-Mercedes

5. Nico Rosberg - 1:37.784 / Mercedes-Mercedes

6. Sebastian Vettel - 1:37.894 / Ferrari-Ferrari

7. Nico Hulkenberg - 1:37.948 / Force India-Mercedes

8. Valtteri Bottas - 1:38.188 / Williams-Mercedes

9. Jenson Button - 1:38.212 / McLaren-Honda

10. Fernando Alonso - 1:38.452 / McLaren-Honda

11. Sergio Perez - 1:38.512 / Force India-Mercedes

12. Jolyon Palmer - 1:38.528 / Renault-Renault

13. Felipe Massa - 1:38.607 / Williams-Mercedes

14. Daniil Kvyat - 1:38.691 / Toro Rosso-Ferrari

15. Carlos Sainz - 1:38.710 / Toro Rosso-Ferrari

16. Esteban Gutierrez - 1:38.939 / Haas-Ferrari

17. Romain Grosjean - 1:39.097 / Haas-Ferrari

18. Kevin Magnussen - 1:39.105 / Renault-Renault

19. Marcus Ericsson - 1:39.239 / Sauber-Ferrari

20. Felipe Nasr - 1:39.509 / Sauber-Ferrari

21. Esteban Ocon - 1:39.771 / Manor-Mercedes

22. Pascal Wehrlein - 1:41.427 / Manor-Mercedes

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Article Written By: Amy Hawk

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