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

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

    Charles Leclerc led a Sauber 1-2 in a wet final free practice session ahead of qualifying for the German Grand Prix.

    Heavy rain limited running for the entire field, with only nine cars setting laptimes during the hour long session.

    The rain began half an hour before the session was due to start and, though many were able to set install laps during the first 15 minutes of FP3, Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg was the only man to set a lap time, putting in a 1m36.873s on the wet Hockenheim circuit.

    After the first quarter of the session, the rain intensified, with Carlos Sainz spinning at turn 10, and the circuit was empty for more than half an hour.

    Eight drivers opted to test the waters in the final 10 minutes of the session.

    Leclerc put in a 1m34.577s to go top of the times, 0.423s ahead of team-mate Marcus Ericsson.

    Sergey Sirotkin took third, ahead of Sebastian Vettel, Pierre Gasly, and Brendon Hartley.

    Renault decided against sending its drivers back out during the late flurry of action, deeming it unsafe and useless. That meant Hulkenberg’s early time was knocked down to seventh, while Sainz was one of 11 drivers not to set a lap time.

    It may have been a wise decision, with Renault only bringing limited spare parts and conditions still bad enough to send Gasly, Lance Stroll, and Vettel into spins.

    Kimi Raikkonen and Stroll ended the morning eighth and ninth quickest, with Stroll almost four seconds slower than Leclerc.

TIMES: 

1. Charles Leclerc - 1:34.577 / Sauber-Ferrari / Monaco
2. Marcus Ericsson - 1:35.000 / Sauber-Ferrari / Sweden
3. Sergey Sirotkin - 1:35.334 / Williams-Mercedes / Russia
4. Sebastian Vettel - 1:35.573 / Ferrari-Ferrari / Germany
5. Pierre Gasly - 1:35.659 / Scuderia Toro Rosso-Honda / France
6. Brendon Hartley - 1:36.151 / Scuderia Toro Rosso-Honda / New Zealand
7. Nico Hulkenberg - 1:36.873 / Renault-Renault / Germany
8. Kimi Raikkonen - 1:37.755 / Ferrari-Ferrari / Finland
9. Lance Stroll - 1:38.393 / Williams-Mercedes / Canada
10. Max Verstappen – NO TIME SET / Red Bull Racing-TAG-Heuer / Netherlands
11. Lewis Hamilton – NO TIME SET / Mercedes-Mercedes / Great Britain
12. Valtteri Bottas – NO TIME SET / Mercedes-Mercedes / Finland
13. Romain Grosjean – NO TIME SET / Haas-Ferrari / France
14. Kevin Magnussen – NO TIME SET / Haas-Ferrari / Denmark
15. Esteban Ocon – NO TIME SET / Force India-Mercedes / France
16. Sergio Perez – NO TIME SET / Force India-Mercedes / Mexico
17. Carlos Sainz – NO TIME SET / Renault-Renault / Spain
18. Daniel Ricciardo – NO TIME SET / Red Bull Racing-TAG-Heuer / Australia
19. Fernando Alonso – NO TIME SET / McLaren-Renault / Spain
20. Stoffel Vandoorne – NO TIME SET / McLaren-Renault / Belgium

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Article Written By: Bethonie Waring
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