Australia – FP3: On dry track, Hamilton narrowly emerges ahead of Rosberg and Vettel
Lewis Hamilton edged out Nico Rosberg and Sebastian Vettel in the third free practice session of this Australian weekend, with a margin that remains particularly slim (less than 3 tenths of a second). The drivers were spared by weather conditions this time and were finally able to seriously prepare for the upcoming Qualifying sessions.
The Mercedes drivers did not hide their game this time at the heart of Albert Park in Melbourne. Unlike the private tests in Barcelona, the reigning double World Champions used the softest available tire compound for this session.
Indeed, Lewis Hamilton achieved the best time of 1:25.624, equipped with super-soft, red-banded tires.
The owner of car number 44 set the benchmark time at the start of the last five minutes of the session, just as the track conditions were steadily improving, all under clear weather. Fans were able to enjoy more on-track action from the drivers this time. It must be said that the sun had chased away the clouds, the rain, and especially the wind, which was much weaker than during the two sessions on Friday.
Hamilton thus outpaced his teammate Nico Rosberg, who was back on track after his disappointment in FP2. The German completed his best lap just 0.176 seconds behind the benchmark set by his teammate.
But the most interesting information for the show certainly lies in Sebastian Vettel’s displayed competitiveness, third with a time of 1:25.852. His time was clocked a bit earlier in the session, suggesting a good margin for adjustment ahead of the Qualifications. That being said, what about the amount of fuel on board? The main issue was to know which team, Mercedes or Ferrari, had kept more in reserve during this session!
Behind the leading trio, the Toro Rosso team had a field day. Good training for Carlos Sainz Jr, who finished fourth, 0.633 seconds behind Hamilton, but more importantly, two-tenths ahead of Kimi Räikkönen, who seemed a bit further back in fifth place. Iceman was ahead of the other Toro Rosso, driven by Max Verstappen.
The two single-seaters seemed comfortable on this track and will be ones to watch during the Qualifications. Will they be able to get ahead of the Williams of Bottas and Massa? The two drivers are lying in wait with seventh and ninth places respectively for the Finn and the Brazilian. Daniel Ricciardo in eighth and Sergio Pérez in tenth complete the Top 10 of this session. It should be noted that the Williams drivers faced some difficulties in tire management, especially with the super-soft tires. This illustrates a general situation where the 22 drivers were more at ease with the soft tires.
“The front tyres are a big problem,” reports Felipe Massa
See for yourselves… #AusGP #FP3 pic.twitter.com/ZKFAjkXtwt
— Formula 1 (@F1) March 19, 2016
Encouraging performances in the midfield for Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button who finished in eleventh and twelfth positions. In terms of pure performance, the two McLarens seem to be closing in on the middle of the grid.
This goal will be more difficult to achieve for other teams, notably the two Renault cars of Palmer and Magnussen, positioned 14th and 17th respectively. Or the two Haas cars of Grosjean and Gutierrez who will make Formula 1 history by competing in the team’s first qualifying session in a few moments in Melbourne.
In the meantime, Romain Grosjean was involved in a strange incident. The Frenchman collided with Rio Haryanto right out of the pit lane at the start of this third and final Free Practice session.
Early drama in the pit lane as Haryanto collides with Grosjean, damaging both cars #AusGP #FP3 #F1IsBack pic.twitter.com/AbgGGlNO9D
— Formula 1 (@F1) March 19, 2016
Careless mistake due to inattention by the drivers and the mechanic responsible for releasing Haryanto’s car at Manor. This was particularly reflected in Grosjean’s track time, with only eleven laps completed, the lowest total among the 22 drivers on the grid.
| N° | Driver | Team | Times | Gap | Laps |
1 | Hamilton | Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team | 1:25:624 | 24 | |
2 | Rosberg | Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team | 1:25:800 | +0.176 | 25 |
3 | Vettel | Scuderia Ferrari | 1:25:852 | +0.228 | 25 |
4 | Sainz Jr. | Scuderia Toro Rosso | 1:26:257 | +0.633 | 28 |
5 | Räikkönen | Scuderia Ferrari | 1:26:435 | +0.811 | 23 |
6 | Verstappen | Scuderia Toro Rosso | 1:26:701 | +1.077 | 26 |
7 | Bottas | Williams Martini Racing | 1:26:730 | +1.106 | 28 |
8 | Ricciardo | Red Bull Racing | 1:26:768 | +1.144 | 22 |
9 | Massa | Williams Martini Racing | 1:27:151 | +1.527 | 28 |
10 | Perez | Sahara Force India F1 Team | 1:27:242 | +1.618 | 22 |
11 | Alonso | McLaren Honda | 1:27:263 | +1.639 | 20 |
12 | Button | McLaren Honda | 1:27:341 | +1.717 | 20 |
13 | Kvyat | Red Bull Racing | 1:27:430 | +1.806 | 22 |
14 | Ericsson | Sauber F1 Team | 1:27:659 | +2.035 | 26 |
15 | Magnussen | Renault F1 Team | 1:27:871 | +2.247 | 24 |
16 | Hülkenberg | Sahara Force India F1 Team | 1:27:988 | +2.364 | 22 |
17 | Palmer | Renault F1 Team | 1:28:117 | +2.493 | 24 |
18 | Gutierrez | Haas F1 Team | 1:28:284 | +2.660 | 21 |
19 | Grosjean | Haas F1 Team | 1:28:292 | +2.668 | 11 |
20 | Nasr | Sauber F1 Team | 1:28:293 | +2.669 | 26 |
21 | Wehrlein | Manor Marussia F1 | 1:29:046 | +3.422 | 18 |
22 | Haryanto | Manor Marussia F1 | 1:29:272 | +3.648 | 23 |
Reading this Ranking gives us an initial semblance of hierarchy in terms of pure performance. However, the teams have not yet had the time to focus on rehearsing their routines for the race. The situation is thus all the more exciting as the first Qualifying session of the season is approaching.
Stay tuned to our site to discover the summary and reactions following this first summit meeting!
