Europe – Free Practice 3 – Hamilton still ahead, Force India still well placed
Lewis Hamilton topped the timesheets in the final free practice session in Baku. Nico Rosberg was second, more than two tenths off the pace. With Nico Hülkenberg (Force India) in third place, but more than a second behind, the gap to the rest of the pack has been closed!
Lewis Hamilton had a final warm-up session that was quite convincing overall. On the urban circuit of Baku, the Englishman set a benchmark time of 1:44.353 on super-soft tires during the last five minutes of the session. Despite an error on his out lap, the Briton was rewarded for his strong attack along the six kilometers of the track!
HAM, pushing all the way to end of #FP3, locks up at first corner #EuropeGP 🇦🇿 #F1 pic.twitter.com/HAFEnykvbq
— Formula 1 (@F1) 18 juin 2016
Behind him, we find his teammate Nico Rosberg just over two-tenths (0.258s precisely) away, who led the standings for a long time. He remains in contention with his teammate to snatch the pole position during Qualifications.
The pleasant surprise this afternoon can be credited to Nico Hülkenberg. Even more than a second off the benchmark, the Force India appears very comfortable on this track, highlighted by a long straight of over two kilometers. Like yesterday, Sergio Perez was also capable of achieving a similar time, but a mistake at the very end of the session in the 15th corner abruptly halted his momentum.
Gutted… @SChecoPerez assesses the damage to his @ForceIndiaF1 car #FP3 #EuropeGP 🇦🇿 #F1 pic.twitter.com/dSHunbH7iM
— Formula 1 (@F1) 18 juin 2016
On his side, Daniel Ricciardo can also approach the Qualifying sessions with a boosted morale. After an average Friday, marked by a crash in FP1, the Australian received significant innovations in the setup of his car. Here he is, placing in fourth position, ahead of Sebastian Vettel’s Ferrari by a tenth of a second.
Conversely, the performance was not up to par for their teammates. Max Verstappen and Kimi Räikkönen only finished in seventh and tenth position, even though Iceman was a victim of a power issue during the session.
Jenson Button, for his part, confirms the good Friday for McLaren-Honda by reaching eighth place. The Woking team is certainly likely to fight with the two Scuderia Toro Rosso drivers for the last Q3 spots. Behind them, there is disappointment especially for Felipe Massa, who had a scare by going too close to the wall of the Azerbaijani circuit. The Williams team truly had a complicated start to the day with Valtteri Bottas unable to complete even one flying lap due to a poorly fixed grille, which damaged the entire right sidepod of his FW27.
After the controversy over the vibrators this Friday, a new difficulty marks the course of this first weekend in the history of Formula 1 in Baku. Let’s hope these issues don’t interfere with the smooth running of the Qualifications!
#FP3 Drain cover comes loose on pit lane exit… repairs underway 🔧 #EuropeGP 🇦🇿 #F1 pic.twitter.com/c0nOvaYf8b
— Formula 1 (@F1) 18 juin 2016
Finally, and this will be the very first challenge of the next session: will the two Manors be able to beat Renault and Sauber to the punch?
More than ever, the power of the Mercedes engine seems to be working wonders on this new track.
PROVISIONAL CLASSIFICATION – END OF FP3 #EuropeGP pic.twitter.com/omSp7HKNZd
— Formula 1 (@F1) 18 juin 2016
This is nonetheless about waiting for the confirmation of qualifications. Check back from 4 PM to discover the summary on our site!
