Hungary – Free Practice 3: Vettel and Ferrari Shine, Mercedes Disappoints
The last practice session at the Hungaroring saw Ferrari's domination, consistently several tenths ahead of Mercedes and Red Bull. Hamilton is far behind his German rival as the qualifications approach. Man of the day yesterday, Ricciardo had to cut his session short due to a gearbox problem, with penalty places looming over the Austrian team.
Everyone is ready this morning for the last practice session, with teams bustling in the pits and spectators crowding around the edges of the circuit. The spectators are indeed very diverse this morning…
We are all set for FP3…
Teddy's ready 😃#HungarianGP 🇭🇺 #F1 pic.twitter.com/liYdI4iurN
— Formula 1 (@F1) 29 juillet 2017
The sun is shining with 24°C in the air and over 44°C on the track. At the green light, the Toro Rosso cars, a Sauber, and the Haas cars of Grosjean and Magnussen take to the track. Alonso seizes a photo opportunity by performing a start procedure at the end of the pit lane.
Briefly hospitalized at the end of the day yesterday, Felipe Massa took to the track for this third practice session. The Brazilian completed his installation lap before returning to his garage and getting out of the car, like most of the drivers ultimately. Only Carlos Sainz completed a timed lap on medium tires in 1’22″742.
A little behind compared to the other five protagonists yesterday, Max Verstappen kicks off the action this morning with a 1’19″012 on super-softs. In great form, Räikkönen responds to the Dutchman with a 1’18″727 to take back the provisional best time, but Verstappen remains faster in sector 2.
#Kimi7 super chrono 1:17.909! #FP3 #HungarianGP pic.twitter.com/AHBNKMEoiN
— Scuderia Ferrari (@ScuderiaFerrari) 29 juillet 2017
The Finn drives the point home with a 1″17’909 and sets a new track record. After a long preparation lap, Sebastian Vettel throws himself wholeheartedly into an excellent lap, at the end of which he snatches the best time from his teammate. New record in 1″17’790 for the German. Hamilton hits the track to respond.
There is ultimately no desire to respond immediately to Ferrari from Mercedes, as Hamilton and Bottas are both on soft tires and are more than a second behind the Scuderia. The Briton records the 3rd fastest time, while his Finnish teammate is 5th.
As the mid-session approaches, there is no rush at McLaren, Alonso eventually hits the track and secures the 6th fastest time, while Vandoorne follows closely in 8th place. Daniel Ricciardo also hadn’t set a time yet and jumps to 4th place, ahead of Verstappen after just one lap, as the Australian asserts himself in the teammates’ duel.
Mid-session update: Vettel holds the fastest time at 1:17.790, Räikkönen is the only one to join him under the 1:18 mark.
INITIAL CLASSIFICATION (30/60 MINS): Both @McLarenF1's in the top 10 👏 #HungarianGP 🇭🇺 #F1 pic.twitter.com/q7KDbDqpnW
— Formula 1 (@F1) 29 juillet 2017
A yellow flag is waved in the second sector; it’s Ricciardo’s Red Bull stopped at the side of the track. The Australian indicates a gearbox stuck in 5th gear, forcing him to leave his car and cut his session short. A difficult moment for him after a perfect Friday and a one-two finish in the first practice sessions.
Problems for @danielricciardo who parks up
📻 “Stuck in 5th…”#FP3 #HungarianGP 🇭🇺 #F1 pic.twitter.com/Cug41nkjl9
— Formula 1 (@F1) 29 juillet 2017
Mercedes’ response finally arrives, Bottas is better in sector two but finishes 5 thousandths behind his compatriot who races under Italian colors. Not to mention Vettel, who makes a big impact with a 1’17″017, Räikkönen follows suit but remains 475 thousandths behind the German.
At Williams, there’s reason to be concerned because Felipe Massa is no longer present, and reserve driver Paul Di Resta is now on hand. If the Brazilian cannot take to the track for the rest of the weekend, the Briton will replace him. Hamilton put on the red-striped tires to chase down Vettel, but he missed his attempt and remained 1.417 seconds behind his rival. In a possible new attempt, he locked his right-front wheel and went straight at the first corner.
In turn 2, Grosjean loses the rear of the Haas without consequence, but the Frenchman states he does not know the cause of this loss of grip. He asks his engineer to check the aerodynamic settings of his car. Transparent after his early session performance, Verstappen improves his time but remains 5th, 1.575 seconds off Vettel’s best time.
In the Red Bull garage, worried looks are directed at Ricciardo’s car, with slight smoke in the Australian’s box. Once the floor is removed, oil can be seen spread across it, and the situation seems to be taking a turn for the worse. On the track, Nico Hülkenberg is once again working wonders with the Renault, securing the 6th fastest time just 0.015 seconds ahead of Ricciardo.
A few seconds before the checkered flag, Vandoorne also delivers a performance by snatching the 6th fastest time from Hülkenberg at the last moment.
The complete ranking at the end of the session:
INITIAL CLASSIFICATION (END OF FP3): @ScuderiaFerrari in the box seat ahead of #Quali #HungarianGP 🇭🇺 #F1 pic.twitter.com/Ch9iZImP4j
— Formula 1 (@F1) 29 juillet 2017
