United States – Free Practice 3: Vettel Continues His March Forward

If the sun is shining once again in Texas, the temperatures remain wintry. But the 13°C in the air and 16°C on the track did not prevent a large crowd from gathering in the stands of the Circuit of the Americas. Everyone in the paddock hopes that the track will evolve more quickly than yesterday so that the grip level increases.

Kamui Kobayashi and his Sauber are in any case the first to tread today the tarmac everyone has been talking about since yesterday, for the usual Saturday morning installation lap. Naturally, the other 23 drivers follow the Japanese suit shortly after. But even a simple installation lap can prove to be tricky, as demonstrated by Romain Grosjean and Timo Glock being caught off guard by turn 19, with no unfortunate consequences for either driver.

Some are going after the clock without returning to the pits. After a first time by Kimi Räikkönen in 1:49.107, it’s Jean-Eric Vergne who tops the timesheet with 1:43.593, before being beaten by Rosberg and then Schumacher in 1:42.396. The times are quickly falling, and the Toro Rosso of the Frenchman briefly regains the lead before being overtaken again by the Mercedes, with Schumacher still ahead of Rosberg. The latter complains on his radio about shoulder pain caused by his harness.

After 15 minutes and some further improvements, it is still the seven-time World Champion who is leading with a time of 1:39.483. But as the Red Baron returns to the pits, narrowly avoiding a collision with Felipe Massa at turn 19, Nico Rosberg sets the fastest time in all three sectors with a 1:38.589, then improves it to 1:38.221. Kamui Kobayashi, meanwhile, posts the second-fastest time at 1:38.656.

For once, the Ferraris are out relatively early during these Free Practice 3 sessions while the Red Bulls are still in the pits, but no F2012 manages to set a lap time. On the track, Sergio Pérez once again shows too much impatience and tries to overtake Charles Pic on the inside of corner 7, but starts from too far back. The contact is inevitable and sends the Marussia spinning, while Pérez complains about the Frenchman even though it seems hard to lay any blame on the Montélimar native.

Jenson Button sets the second fastest time at 1:38.583 as the Red Bulls leave the pits. Simultaneously, Lewis Hamilton is informed that he can ignore the light warning him of a brake temperature issue, as the sensor itself is faulty. His teammate continues his run, displacing Nico Rosberg from the lead with a 1:37.973, then lights up the first two sectors in purple on his next lap to improve by three-tenths, on hard tires, followed by Lewis Hamilton ranking 2nd closely at three-tenths behind. The 2009 World Champion is very consistent, further reducing his time by a small tenth to 1:37.538.

For their part, the Ferraris have yet to set any time while 25 minutes remain: the men from Maranello seem to consider that the morning conditions are not representative of those during qualifying and the race. The first half-hour has therefore been mainly dedicated to pit stop practice. As for Sebastian Vettel, 3rd with a time of 1:38.034, he is ahead of Button’s time after the first two sectors, an advantage nullified by a major slide caught in turn 19. Meanwhile, Jean-Eric Vergne is forced to stop his Toro Rosso in the first sector, the steering apparently broken as the two front wheels are pointing in different directions, seemingly after climbing too harshly over a curb. The yellow flag is therefore deployed by the marshals.

On the track, Lewis Hamilton eventually claimed the fastest time with 1:37.492 before returning to the pits. The two McLarens are followed by the two Red Bulls and the two Mercedes. The Ferraris, currently in their first stint, are nearly 5 seconds behind in 18th and 19th positions. However, these times are skewed by the yellow flag that is still active in the first sector. Felipe Massa is discussing with his engineer Rob Smedley the point of continuing to drive under these conditions and finally comes in when the yellow flag is withdrawn.

On track, Kimi Räikkönen is among the last to stay on Hard tires, clocking the 7th fastest time at 1:38.356. Most other drivers are in the pits to switch to Medium tires. The more performant tires allow Michael Schumacher to set the 5th fastest time at 1:38.078 in the 4th lap of his stint, which seems to confirm the temperature build-up issues many drivers faced yesterday.

And while Romain Grosjean’s single-seater is disassembled due to a gearbox problem, Pastor Maldonado has another scare at turn 19, as well as in the following curve. This is the moment Felipe Massa chooses to set the 3rd best time at 1:37.969, under the watchful eyes of Rubens Barrichello, who is present in the Ferrari garage with Tony Kanaan, an IndyCar driver and close friend of the Brazilian.

Fernando Alonso also needs to be added to the list of drivers making mistakes in turn 19, which ruins one of his attempts. Meanwhile, Sebastian Vettel sets the absolute best time at 1:36.490, achieving the fastest times in all three sectors. His teammate Mark Webber can only manage a 1:37.532, more than a second behind his teammate. The Ferraris, on the other hand, climb to 2nd and 3rd, with Alonso ahead of Massa in 1:37.180 but at a respectable distance from Vettel. Maldonado once again shows his one-lap prowess, despite some corrections needed to keep his car on track, posting the 2nd fastest time in 1:37.001, only to be eventually overtaken by Lewis Hamilton at 1:36.748, who also sets the fastest time in the first sector. As for Fernando Alonso, he cannot improve on his last lap, again due to sliding in turns 19 and 20, leaving Sebastian Vettel at the top of the leaderboard for the third time this weekend.

Free Practice 3 Results of the 2012 United States Grand Prix: