British GP: Free Practice #3 - RE-CAP & TIMES

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

    Lewis Hamilton topped the times in the final free practice session ahead of the British Grand Prix.

    Hamilton and Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen swapped fastest laps at the top of the order, but it was the Brit’s 1m26.722s that was top of the charts when the chequered flag fell.

    The hour long session was paused after 15 minutes when Brendon Hartley brought out the red flags.

    The Toro Rosso driver had suffered a front left suspension failure as soon as he hit the brakes at the end of the Wellington straight, sending him into the gravel at high speed. The car dug into the gravel, almost flipping, before coming to a stop in the tyre barrier. Hartley was able to walk away from the incident unharmed, but the damage to his car meant he would be unable to take part in qualifying.

    Pierre Gasly – one of only five drivers to have set a lap time before the incident – sat out the rest of the session as Toro Rosso ensured there wouldn’t be a repeat failure. The FIA requested Gasly’s entire suspension be changed before qualifying.

    The session restarted with 30 minutes on the clock, with everybody but Gasly, Raikkonen, Sebastian Vettel, Max Verstappen, and Romain Grosjean yet to set a time.

    Raikkonen ended the session less than a tenth of a second behind Hamilton, with Valtteri Bottas finishing third.

    Sebastian Vettel only managed a total of eight laps, less than any other driver bar the Toro Rosso duo. The Ferrari driver’s session was cut short due to a neck pain, but he still managed to put in the fourth quickest time.

    Sauber enjoyed a strong session, with Charles Leclerc and Marcus Ericsson running fifth and sixth for most of the second half hour. The pair were bumped down the order as the Red Bulls and Haas drivers found improvements on the hot Silverstone circuit, but they still managed to finish seventh and 10th respectively.

    Max Verstappen took fifth fastest with a time 1.290s slower than Hamilton, with Daniel Ricciardo just 0.006s further back.

    Kevin Magnussen beat team-mate Romain Grosjean, the pair finishing eighth and ninth.

    Neither Force India driver made it into the top 10, with Esteban Ocon and Sergio Perez 11th and 12th, ahead of Fernando Alonso, Nico Hulkenberg, and Carlos Sainz.

    Lance Stroll, Sergey Sirotkin, Stoffel Vandoorne, and Gasly completed the order.

TIMES: 

1. Lewis Hamilton - 1:26.722 / Mercedes-Mercedes / Great Britain
2. Kimi Raikkonen - 1:26.815 / Ferrari-Ferrari / Finland
3. Valtteri Bottas - 1:27.364 / Mercedes-Mercedes / Finland
4. Sebastian Vettel - 1:27.851 / Ferrari-Ferrari / Germany
5. Max Verstappen - 1:28.012 / Red Bull Racing-TAG-Heuer / Netherlands
6. Daniel Ricciardo - 1:28.018 / Red Bull Racing-TAG-Heuer / Australia
7. Charles Leclerc - 1:28.146 / Sauber-Ferrari / Monaco
8. Kevin Magnussen - 1:28.418 / Haas-Ferrari / Denmark
9. Romain Grosjean - 1:28.554 / Haas-Ferrari / France
10. Marcus Ericsson - 1:28.814 / Sauber-Ferrari / Sweden
11. Esteban Ocon - 1:28.917 / Force India-Mercedes / France
12. Sergio Perez - 1:29.066 / Force India-Mercedes / Mexico
13. Fernando Alonso - 1:29.070 / McLaren-Renault / Spain
14. Nico Hulkenberg - 1:29.094 / Renault-Renault / Germany
15. Carlos Sainz - 1:29.133 / Renault-Renault / Spain
16. Lance Stroll - 1:29.829 / Williams-Mercedes / Canada
17. Sergey Sirotkin - 1:29.984 / Williams-Mercedes / Russia
18. Stoffel Vandoorne - 1:30.004 / McLaren-Renault / Belgium
19. Pierre Gasly - 1:30.050 / Scuderia Toro Rosso-Honda / France
20. Brendon Hartley - NO TIME SET / Scuderia Toro Rosso-Honda / New Zealand

----
Article Written By: Bethonie Waring
No copyright infringement intended
Follow us on Twitter @bethonieboost & @F1Insider78