China – Free Practice 3: Ferrari kicks off the weekend, Hamilton unwittingly hides his game

The weather finally spared the 20 drivers on the grid in China! After a rainy and foggy Friday, the last practice session was the opportunity for the drivers to test themselves on this 5.451-kilometer Shanghai track.

Both Ferrari drivers lead at the start

Consequently, there was a rush as soon as the light turned green. Jolyon Palmer was the first on track. The reconnaissance laps allowed us to see a mix of soft and super-soft tires, with the ultra-softs temporarily remaining in the garage. The session kicked off with a few spins on a track still “green” in terms of grip. Palmer at T11 and Marcus Ericsson at T8 treated us to some improvised maneuvers, without notable consequences on the session’s progression.

PAL = 😣 🔄

ERI = 😣 🔄#ChineseGP 🇨🇳 #FP3 pic.twitter.com/LVI7Afcefx

— Formula 1 (@F1) April 8th /f1/actualite/21830-chine-essais-libres-2-les-f1-a-larret-et-la-seance-annulee-.html

All the drivers were on track during the first 15 minutes. A particular incident: Valtteri Bottas lost his T-wing in the middle of his stint! An event not very significant for the Finnish driver who did not return to the pits to change this aerodynamic appendage. The W08 indeed quickly had to perform on track, against the times of the Ferrari drivers.

Problemas en el ala del Mercedes de Valteri Bottas 😯😯 #ChineseGP #LAF1ENVIVO pic.twitter.com/1zZkRmNMll

— Mauricio garces (@MxMGarces) April 8

After an initial benchmark set by Daniel Ricciardo, Scuderia Ferrari flexed its muscles! Kimi Räikkönen and then Sebastian Vettel hit hard at the start of the second part of the session. The German was the fastest with a time of 1:33.336 on super-soft tires. More than the top position, the performance level compared to Mercedes was worth observing. Lewis Hamilton was more than seven-tenths behind at the end of the first round of laps!

Better for the Reds, Räikkönen was within the same tenth as his teammate (53 thousandths). The first match between the two big guns was turning in Ferrari’s favor. Behind, Felipe Massa was the best of the rest in fifth position, behind Bottas, one second and four-tenths off the leader.

On the tire side, race simulations showed little wear, which suggests the possibility of another one-stop race.

What about the level of Mercedes?

Calm returned a few moments before the final practice session, fully dedicated to qualifying simulations. And in this little game, Mercedes gradually made a comeback. Bottas chipped away at the gap to close to three-tenths. Promising and ahead in the first two sectors, Lewis Hamilton missed his braking at the end of the long straight. The triple world champion ended up with a five-tenths gap, finishing only in a modest fourth position. But should Mercedes see the glass as half full or half empty?

Mercedes P3 (BOT) and P4 (HAM) overall

Middle sector proving the trickiest for the Silver Arrows 👀#ChineseGP 🇨🇳 #FP3 pic.twitter.com/lbT7lCjsu5

— Formula 1 (@F1) April 8

Anyway, the majority of drivers were studious, gathering valuable data both on race stints and qualifying simulations. Kimi Räikkönen and Fernando Alonso remain the only competitors below the 20 laps mark on track. Meanwhile, no real incident marked this FP3, offering a good overview of the forces in play, as the standings show. A table where the Red Bulls are beyond a second and a half gap, indeed relegated to the background, not helped by a less powerful Renault engine. The Williams are competitive with Lance Stroll also finishing in the top 10. Conversely, we find two other drivers powered by the Renault engine in the top 10, with Jolyon Palmer and Carlos Sainz. Both French drivers experienced some setup difficulties. Both hope for better rankings after the qualifying session…

PROVISIONAL CLASSIFICATION (END OF #FP3)

Set up nicely for another intriguing battle in #Quali 🙌#ChineseGP 🇨🇳 pic.twitter.com/pixsp6KFZz

— Formula 1 (@F1) 8 avril /f1/actualite/21830-chine-essais-libres-2-les-f1-a-larret-et-la-seance-annulee-.html

Vettel’s best time is in any case promising. For reference, the absolute track record is now (already) just over a second away. In 2004, Michael Schumacher set a time of 1:32.238 in his Ferrari during the race.

As in Melbourne, will the new single-seaters surpass the benchmark? The first hint of an answer in just a few moments with the qualifications…