Hungary – Free Practice 3: Webber Edges Ahead

The drivers take to the track, heated to 38°C with an ambient temperature of 29°C, for this final hour of practice at the 2012 Hungarian Grand Prix.

Heikki Kovalainen is the first driver to take to the track, but it’s Jenson Button who clocks in the first timed lap at 1:29.641. With eight drivers opting to start the clock immediately after their installation laps, the teams aim to make the most of this last hour of dry testing after rain affected the practice sessions. Only the Ferrari drivers don’t seem in a hurry to get back on track after their respective installation laps.

After 10 minutes of testing, Mark Webber leads Hülkenberg, Vergne, Ricciardo, Vettel, Grosjean, Button, Rosberg, and Schumacher. But the reigning double world champion takes the lead with 1:23.058 (Mediums). A time that does not withstand the assaults of Kimi Räikkönen with 1:22.718 (Mediums).

After laying the groundwork for a potential fastest time, Lewis Hamilton lost ground in the penultimate turn and had to “settle” for second place while on track, a distant 20th and 21st, the Mercedes seemed to be working on long stints with lap times around the 1 minute 28 mark.

The second attempt is the charm for Lewis Hamilton, who takes the fastest time with 1:22.224 (Mediums), while Romain Grosjean, battling with his Lotus E20, still manages to climb to third place, less than two-tenths behind his teammate.

First driver to put on Soft tires, Jean-Eric Vergne temporarily grabs second place with a time of 1:22.492, while Lewis Hamilton drives it home with a lap of 1:21.706, still on Medium tires. Sebastian Vettel does better with 1:21.671, but on Soft tires. However, it’s Mark Webber who has the final say, on Soft tires, with 1:21.550.

At mid-session, the Ferrari drivers finally point the nose of the F2012, while at McLaren they seem to be working on different programs since Jenson Button is only in 16th place, two seconds behind his teammate, who is third.

On Soft tires, Bruno Senna shows strong form again by placing his Williams in 4th position, three-tenths off Webber’s best time, also achieved on Pirelli’s yellow-walled tires. At Ferrari, approaching the last quarter-hour, and after completing only 7 and 9 laps, Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa occupy provisional 8th and 12th positions, respectively.

In the final rush, most drivers opt for the Soft tires and use the DRS to its maximum capacity, which can be activated on 42% of the circuit length during qualifying. Under these conditions, Fernando Alonso climbs to 5th place with a time of 1:21.884. Lewis Hamilton, expected with the yellow-walled tires, falls short in second position with an improvable time of 1:21.643. Even though not all cars appear to be on the same programs, all drivers are on track in the final minutes except for Fernando Alonso.

The Spaniard is joined in the garages by Hamilton, Räikkönen, and Massa while on track, in attack mode, Sebastian Vettel makes multiple excursions beyond the curbs. In the final lap, Romain Grosjean sets the fastest time in the second sector but returns to the pits, as the hierarchy isn’t expected to change under the checkered flag.

Mark Webber sets the fastest time and edges out Lewis Hamilton by a hair, with 14 drivers within less than a second. The Ferraris were discreet and did not run much during this session, while at Mercedes, Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg focused on groundwork in preparation for the race.

Free Practice 3 Results of the 2012 Hungarian Grand Prix: