Abu Dhabi – Free Practice 3: McLaren Ahead, Ferrari Lags Behind
The final free practice session of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was dominated by McLaren, with Hamilton leading Button, while Vettel placed 3rd after being held up for a good part of the morning by brake issues.
The weather is nice and warm for this final practice session of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The temperature is a pleasant 32 degrees in the air while the track is at 44 degrees. As soon as the red lights go out at the end of the pit lane, many drivers head out onto the track.
After a few installation laps, the serious business begins with a first reference time set by Kamui Kobayashi at 1:49.193. The Japanese driver significantly improves on the next lap, completing it in 1:45.628. Kimi Räikkönen takes the lead with 1:44.654 for the Finn. They are still far from Vettel’s best time yesterday afternoon, which was 1:41.751, but the cars are still equipped with medium Pirelli tires in this first half of the session.
At the end of this first testing session, it’s Lewis Hamilton who is at the top of the standings with a time of 1:42.851, ahead of Maldonado and Hülkenberg. Meanwhile, Vettel has yet to set a time. The German is seated in his cockpit, but his mechanics are busy working on the brakes of his RB8, which explains his absence from the track.
Track on which the McLaren drivers excel as Hamilton improves his time, 1:42.148 for the Englishman, while Button takes second place in the provisional standings.
With 23 minutes remaining in this practice session, Grosjean and Senna are the first to switch to soft tires on their cars. The Frenchman logically moves up the ranks behind the two McLarens, but is over a second behind Lewis Hamilton.
In the last eight minutes of this final practice session, other drivers opt for the Pirelli soft tires. Even Sebastian Vettel joins the fray as his teammate moves up to 3rd, six-tenths of a second behind the leading McLaren. Fastest time improved by Lewis Hamilton, also on the soft tires, 1:42.130. Sebastian Vettel moves up to 3rd at the last moment with only one clear timed lap for the Red Bull driver.
With 1:42.130, his best time in testing is still three tenths slower than the best time recorded yesterday.
Free Practice 3 Results of the 2012 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix:
| N° | Driver | Team | Times | Gap | Laps |
1 | Hamilton | McLaren | 1:42.130 | 18 | |
2 | Button | McLaren | 1:42.420 | +0.290 | 17 |
3 | Vettel | Red Bull | 1:42.614 | +0.484 | 7 |
4 | Webber | Red Bull | 1:42.743 | +0.613 | 18 |
5 | Hülkenberg | Force India | 1:42.750 | +0.620 | 19 |
6 | Grosjean | Lotus | 1:43.015 | +0.885 | 18 |
7 | Maldonado | Williams | 1:43.064 | +0.934 | 19 |
8 | Alonso | Ferrari | 1:43.133 | +1.003 | 15 |
9 | Räikkönen | Lotus | 1:43.184 | +1.054 | 22 |
10 | di Resta | Force India | 1:43.338 | +1.208 | 19 |
11 | Massa | Ferrari | 1:43.480 | +1.350 | 17 |
12 | Perez | Sauber | 1:43.571 | +1.441 | 20 |
13 | Rosberg | Mercedes | 1:43.593 | +1.463 | 20 |
14 | Schumacher | Mercedes | 1:43.635 | +1.505 | 19 |
15 | Kobayashi | Sauber | 1:44.010 | +1.880 | 22 |
16 | Vergne | Toro Rosso | 1:44.025 | +1.895 | 18 |
17 | Senna | Williams | 1:44.071 | +1.941 | 19 |
18 | Ricciardo | Toro Rosso | 1:44.149 | +2.019 | 19 |
19 | Kovalainen | Caterham | 1:45.301 | +3.171 | 22 |
20 | Glock | Marussia | 1:45.879 | +3.749 | 19 |
21 | Pic | Marussia | 1:46.036 | +3.906 | 19 |
22 | Petrov | Caterham | 1:46.261 | +4.131 | 22 |
23 | De la Rosa | HRT | 1:46.554 | +4.424 | 20 |
24 | Karthikeyan | HRT | 1:47.032 | +4.902 | 22 |
