Canada – Free Practice 3: Vettel Stakes His Claim

It’s a sunny blue sky that welcomes the drivers for the third practice session as the air temperature already exceeds 20°C. Heikki Kovalainen is the first to venture onto the track for the usual installation laps, and all drivers return to the pits at the end of their respective laps except for Nico Rosberg. The German stops his Mercedes at the exit of turn 7; Rosberg complains over the radio of having had a strange sensation with the clutch during his practice start at the end of the pit lane.

Kamui Kobayashi is the first driver to set a timed lap on Soft tires (1:17.376) followed by Jenson Button, with a 1:19.008 lap, who needs to make up for the time lost during the first two free practice sessions. Kimi Räikkönen challenges the two men for the best time, but after setting the best times in the first two sectors, the Finn cannot do better.

At the same time, Jean-Eric Vergne became the second man of the morning to dismount as, after veering slightly wide in turn 1, the Frenchman put his wheels on the damp grass, causing his car to lose control and come to a stop at moderate speed in the tire wall.

This does not prevent Jenson Button from taking the best time at the expense of Kamui Kobayashi, with a lap of 1:15.833, but Sebastian Vettel displaces him a few minutes later with a time of 1:15.440, marked by the fastest time in the final sector. The German drives the point home on the next lap with a time of 1:15.022, lighting up all sectors in purple on the control screens, indicating the absolute best times.

The Red Bull driver leads ahead of Massa, Schumacher, Grosjean, and Maldonado, who have positioned themselves in front of Jenson Button’s McLaren. However, Fernando Alonso quickly overtakes his teammate for second place but remains 0.2 seconds behind the reigning double world champion. The Spaniard sets the fastest time in the first sector but decides not to continue his effort in order to heat up his tires with some aggressive steering. On the next lap, the Ferrari driver misses the apex at the hairpin and abandons his attempt once again. The following lap proves successful for the native of Oviedo, who finally manages to dislodge Vettel by becoming the first to go under 1 minute 15 seconds with 1:14.737. But Alonso’s lead is short-lived as Lewis Hamilton edges him out by a hair, with a time of 1:14.712.

The Briton leads ahead of Alonso, Vettel, Massa, Räikkönen, Schumacher, Kobayashi, Grosjean, Di Resta, and Maldonado with just over a third of the session remaining. Romain Grosjean is the first driver to switch to the Super Soft tires, which allow him to climb to third position, while Jenson Button re-enters the provisional Top 10 on Soft tires in 5th position. At the bottom of the timesheet, the HRT drivers confirm their good form at the Gilles Villeneuve circuit by outpacing the two Marussia cars, with Charles Pic narrowly ahead of his teammate.

Second driver to fit the Super Soft tires with red sidewalls, Michael Schumacher finishes in 4th place, while Sebastian Vettel goes on to claim the fastest time, on Soft tires, right under Lewis Hamilton’s nose, by a mere thousandth. Michael Schumacher closes to within 85 thousandths of the Red Bull driver, but remains 4th in the standings.

Sebastian Vettel impresses with his consistency on track, clocking laps of 1:14.9 and then 1:14.7. But the German’s best time does not withstand the attacks from Fernando Alonso who, on Super Soft tires, sets a time of 1:14.448. His teammate, Felipe Massa, struggles to compete, making a few wheel lock-ups that prevent him from achieving better than 5th position.

In the final minutes, most drivers switch to Super Soft tires, with Kimi Räikkönen also breaking the 1:15 barrier, in 7th position, just a tenth behind his teammate. Mark Webber displaces him while Sebastian Vettel, tucked up behind the exhausts of Michael Schumacher’s Mercedes W03, takes the best time by a mere 6 thousandths of a second.

A few moments later, Kimi Räikkönen missed the chicane and steered to enter the pit lane. A maneuver deemed cavalier by the stewards, who therefore opened an investigation.

Under the checkered flag, Sebastian Vettel is unable to improve, often hindered by traffic approaching the final chicane. The German is ahead of Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton, while Jenson Button, in 15th place, is less than a second behind the Red Bull driver.

Free Practice 3 Results of the 2012 Canadian Grand Prix: