German GP – Free Practice 3: Vettel Wakes Up, McLaren Gets Closer

Many drivers quickly head out at the start of the session, and it’s Jérôme d’Ambrosio who sets the first time on the track with his Virgin, before being joined by several other drivers. The Saubers take the lead with Kamui Kobayashi, before the Mercedes drivers hit the track and quickly gain the upper hand. The duel between the two Germans begins after more than twenty minutes into the session.

At mid-session, the drivers from the three top teams start to come out, and the two McLaren drivers take the first two positions before Sergio Perez reclaims it on soft tires. But it’s Fernando Alonso who sets the fastest time on medium tires, while Mark Webber falls short by less than two-tenths. Nico Rosberg sets the best time on soft tires with the three best sectors, while the two Red Bull drivers get the upper hand over the rest of the drivers on medium tires. Sebastian Vettel then outperforms Mark Webber, while Nico Rosberg improves the best time once more.

Most drivers start switching to soft tires 20 minutes before the end, and both Force India drivers subsequently hold the second and third fastest times, Adrian Sutil ahead of Paul di Resta who lost a lot of time in the last sector. At the back of the pack, Karun Chandhok seems to be adapting well to the Team Lotus car, just two-tenths off his weekend teammate.

Fernando Alonso is the first of the three top teams to switch to soft tires, and he sets the best time in all three sectors to beat Nico Rosberg’s time by half a second. Jenson Button, on his first lap with soft tires, finishes just ahead of the Mercedes driver but far behind the Spaniard from Ferrari. Lewis Hamilton improves his teammate’s time but remains very far, while the Red Bulls also come out on soft tires. Mark Webber sets the second-fastest time with a gap of 40 milliseconds, but had to overtake a slower car on his timed lap. His teammate, however, misses out on the best time by three-tenths for third position. The Australian delivers a very good lap even though no sector is the best, giving him the fastest time as Sebastian Vettel pushes hard to break the 1’31 barrier. The German is the only one to surpass this limit, setting a time of 1’30.916.

The gaps are very tight, the qualifying session promises to be exciting with the two Red Bull drivers and the Ferraris at the forefront. You can follow a live text commentary by our editors on Motorsinside.com by clicking here.

Free Practice 3 Standings of the German Grand Prix /f1/news/10911-follow-the-german-gp-qualifying-live.html: