Germany – Free Practice 3: Leclerc ahead of Ericsson, Sauber shines in the wet!
The rain as a disruptive element in this third free practice session, only 9 drivers recorded a time! As a fun fact, both Sauber drivers are at the top of the timesheet. Everything still to play for in the qualifiers...
The twenty drivers were not spared this Saturday afternoon: the rain was present throughout the session. A last-minute guest for this weekend, but expected to last, as the weather does not seem to be improving in anticipation of the afternoon’s qualifying.
Traditional dilemma: drive to gain experience on a new track, or stay in the garage to avoid a crash and thus compromise your chances for qualifications? It is indeed the second option that the drivers reluctantly chose. “We don’t have enough rain tires!” confided Esteban Ocon in his garage to Sky Sports F1. However, the rain could be an ally for the mid-grid teams later in the weekend.
After half an hour, the only driver to have completed a timed lap was Nico Hülkenberg, with a 1:36.873 on wet tires.
14 other drivers took to the track, but most of them only for a single flying lap: special mention to the German, credited with four laps! The dangerous conditions almost caused a crash between Verstappen and Alonso at the pit exit.
On track, Carlos Sainz had a scare on his own, spinning his car in the seventh turn, on the kerb on the inside of the trajectory. The Spaniard avoided the wall and managed to return to his pit without difficulty.
Sainz gets in a spin 🔄
A lot of standing water on the track 💧#GermanGP 🇩🇪 #F1 pic.twitter.com/OPCYhgMQkD
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 21, 2018
The session experienced quite a dead time of more than thirty minutes before a car returned to the track, that of Sergei Sirotkin! A driver reassured by a radio message from his team: “take no risks”! Very well.
The end of the session was lively nonetheless, with the Sauber drivers crossing the finish line. Many errors were noted in the sixth turn, but without negative consequence thanks to the asphalt runoff. Three minutes before the end, the favorites finally showed up: Sebastian Vettel clocked a 1:35.573. But his likely future teammate edged him out at the last moment: 1:34.577 for Charles Leclerc, who recorded the fastest absolute time of this FP3! The Sauber team even achieved a double, with Ericsson taking second place. Sirotkin, Vettel, Gasly, Hartley, Hülkenberg, Räikkönen, and Stroll were the other drivers to set a time, in that order.
Valtteri Bottas for his part completed a simple installation lap before returning to the pits. The same goes for Lewis Hamilton, while rumors from Sky Sports F1 suggest the driver is “sick.” This information was quickly denied by the Mercedes team, and the Briton will indeed participate in the qualifying session, which promises to be tricky and wet!
It’s a @SauberF1Team one-two in FP3 @Charles_Leclerc tops a #F1 session for the first time 👏#GermanGP 🇩🇪 pic.twitter.com/YsBZABZqgT
— Formula 1 (@F1) 21 juillet 2018
