Free Practice 3 – Trouble for Räikkönen… but he is 1st
Räikkönen set the fastest time in a free practice session for the third time this weekend. The Finn once again outpaced Fernando Alonso, but this time with a slightly larger gap of 26 thousandths. The Scuderia driver could have been pleased with his weekend, until a significant mechanical problem halted his momentum. Indeed, in the […]
Räikkönen set the fastest time in a free practice session for the third time this weekend. The Finn once again outpaced Fernando Alonso, but this time with a slightly larger gap of 26 thousandths. The Scuderia driver could have been pleased with his weekend, until a significant mechanical problem halted his momentum.
Indeed, in the very last minutes, Räikkönen had to return to his pit at a slow pace, with a fine whitish smoke appearing. A bad sign for the Finn, who may have to change his engine for the qualifications and lose 10 places on the starting grid…
Alonso is on the alert, the Spaniard is once again second, but today Massa is 4th and it’s Lewis Hamilton who takes the third fastest time.
Schumacher has been in vogue since the start of the weekend. He is the first “of the others” in 5th position and almost 9 tenths already, ahead of Coulthard, Kubica, and Kovalainen.
Nico Rosberg is only 11th, ahead of Vitantonio Liuzzi in the Toro Rosso. Meanwhile, Fisichella ranks 17th, ahead of Barrichello. The Italian from Renault only completed 17 laps, encountered some issues, and returned to his box.
On the incident side of things, it was Vettel who was the most demonstrative. The German spun and went off course twice without any serious consequences. He still secured the 16th time, while the two Spykers were at the back of the pack.
Free Practice 3 Standings in China
The weather has been very cloudy. Humidity is at 65% and temperatures of 30°C suggest rain for the rest of the weekend, but forecasts predict a qualifying session in dry conditions…