Malaysian GP: Free Practice #3 - Re-Cap & Times

MALAYSIAN GP - FREE PRACTICE #3 - RE-CAP & TIMES

    Ferrari was once again the dominant force in the final free practice session ahead of the Malaysian Grand Prix, but it was a far from perfect session for the Italian squad as engine problems hit Sebastian Vettel in the closing stages of the session.

    Kimi Raikkonen topped the times, a tenth of a second faster than his team-mate and half a second faster than the closest Mercedes.

    Vettel was told to slow down in the final minutes of the session and cruise back to the pits. Ferrari is now changing the engine, which it had hoped not to use until Suzuka next weekend.

    Daniel Ricciardo claimed third fastest whilst team-mate Max Verstappen also ran into trouble. Renault’s Jolyon Palmer was on a hot lap, behind the Red Bull on track. He dived down the inside of Verstappen at the final corner, but locked up and collided. Verstappen was sent into a spin and reported a puncture whilst Palmer damaged his front wing. Both were sent to the stewards over the incident.

    Verstappen ended the day sixth fastest whilst a generally scruffy session for Palmer put him 17th.

Mercedes again couldn’t compete with Ferrari at a track that is supposed to work in its favour. The team brought a new front wing to the race, but it doesn’t seem to be giving its drivers the pace it had hoped for.

    Valtteri Bottas, running the new aero package, was fourth fastest, less than two tenths of a second quicker than Lewis Hamilton, who took fifth.

    Sergio Perez won the best of the rest title, taking seventh fastest ahead of Felipe Massa, Esteban Ocon, and Stoffel Vandoorne.

    After some impressive times in Friday’s free practice session, Fernando Alonso could only manage 11th quickest, beating Lance Stroll and Kevin Magnussen. Magnussen’s running was limited when he was called back to the pits with a suspected engine problem. He was sent back out and took the 13th best time, nearly two seconds slower than Raikkonen.

    There was more misery for Romain Grosjean. After he hit the barriers in FP2 yesterday it was a race against time for the mechanics to repair his car. They worked into the early hours of the morning but Grosjean was able to get back out in FP3, only to spin on a flying lap. He finished 18th fastest, ahead only of Marcus Ericsson and Pascal Wehrlein.

    Nico Hulkenberg was 14th quickest, with Carlos Sainz beating Pierre Gasly in 15th and 16th.

TIMES:

1. Kimi Raikkonen – 1:31.880 / Ferrari-Ferrari / Finland
2. Sebastian Vettel - 1:32.042 / Ferrari-Ferrari / Germany
3. Daniel Ricciardo - 1:32.091 / Red Bull-TAG-Heuer / Australia
4. Valtteri Bottas - 1:32.329 / Mercedes-Mercedes / Finland
5. Lewis Hamilton - 1:32.539 / Mercedes-Mercedes / Great Britain
6. Max Verstappen - 1:32.579 / Red Bull-TAG-Heuer / Netherlands
7. Sergio Perez - 1:33.209 / Force India-Mercedes / Mexico
8. Felipe Massa – 1:33.240 / Williams-Mercedes / Brazil
9. Esteban Ocon - 1:33.290 / Force India-Mercedes / France
10. Stoffel Vandoorne - 1:33.321 / McLaren-Honda / Belgium
11. Fernando Alonso - 1:33.530 / McLaren-Honda / Spain
12. Lance Stroll - 1:33.538 / Williams-Mercedes / Canada
13. Kevin Magnussen - 1:33.787 / Haas-Ferrari / Denmark
14. Nico Hulkenberg - 1:33.871 / Renault-Renault / Germany
15. Carlos Sainz - 1:33.924 / Toro Rosso-Renault / Spain
16. Pierre Gasly - 1:34.206 / Toro Rosso-Renault / France
17. Jolyon Palmer - 1:34.475 / Renault-Renault / Great Britain
18. Romain Grosjean - 1:34.914 / Haas-Ferrari / France
19. Marcus Ericsson - 1:34.936 / Sauber-Ferrari / Sweden
20. Pascal Wehrlein - 1:35.045 / Sauber-Ferrari / Germany

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Article Written By: Bethonie Waring
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