Practice 3 Report - By himself

Sebastian Vettel was all by himself in Free Practice 3. He was the only driver to get below with one minute 37 second level as he clocked a time of 1:37.881 in his Red Bull. Vettel's teammate Mark Webber was almost as quick as he posted a 1:38.018.

Mercedes teammates Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton took third and fourth with lap times of 1:38.318 and 1:38.332 respectively.

The ambient temperature at the start of the one-hour session was 72 degrees Fahrenheit (22 degrees Celsius), and the track temperature was 95 degrees Fahrenheit (35 degrees Celsius.)

Marussia teammates Max Chilton and Jules Bianchi headed out first. Caterham's Charles Pic set the first time of the session ‘1:43.170 and he then lowered that to a 1:42.730. His teammate Guido van der Garde beat that with a time of 1:42.383.

Everybody was out on Pirelli's medium compound slick tires at this stage.

15 minutes into the session, things got serious as Mark Webber posted a 1:39.330 in his Red Bull. Paul di Resta (Force India) was second at this stage and 1.970 seconds slower than Webber. Bianchi, meanwhile, had a quick spin at Turn 9.

17 minutes into the session, Kimi Raikkonen took over second place with a time of 1:40.272 in his Lotus. A number of the fast guys were still in the pits including Mercedes teammates Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, and Ferrari's Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa.

18 minutes into the session, Sebastian Vettel grabbed second place with a 1:39.588 in his Red Bull as Webber improved to a 1:39.234. The team radioed to Vettel that he was losing time to Webber in the middle sector.

22 minutes into the session, Vettel learned his lessons and went fastest with a 1:39.014.

25 minutes into the session, and the Ferrari and Mercedes boys were now on track as well as the McLaren duo of Jenson Button and Sergio Perez who had been waiting in the pits. Romain Grosjean was currently third fastest with a time of 1:39.584 in his Lotus.

28 minutes into the session, Alonso took third place with a time of 1:39.303. And Hamilton and RF

The top six halfway through FP3 were: Vettel, Webber, Alonso, Grosjean, Hamilton and Rosberg.

With 25 minutes remaining in the session, Webber lowered the best time to 1:39.001, so was 0.013 quicker than Vettel.

The drivers continued to do runs on the medium tires. But now Grosjean tried out the super soft compound slicks.

With 21 minutes remaining in the session, Webber turned a 1:38.946 on the medium tires. Hamilton improved to third with a 1:39.179.

With 19 minutes remaining in the session, Hamilton went to the top of the screens as he turned a 1:38.860.

With 16 minutes remaining in the session, a majority of the drivers were in the pits having their cars prepared for qualifying simulations on the Pirelli super soft.

With 13 minutes remaining in the session, Webber headed out. Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber) was the only other driver on the track at this stage. After a warm-up lap, Webber slammed in a 1:38.132. Vettel and Alonso joined the party.

With 7 minutes remaining in the session, the top six were: Webber, Hamilton, Vettel, Alonso, Rosberg and Grosjean as Webber improved to a 1:38.018.

With 6 minutes remaining in the session, Vettel topped the times with a 1:37.881 as Alonso moved into third with a 1:38.486. Every driver except Daniel Ricciardo was on the track at this stage. And he soon joined the action. Massa was now third and Raikkonen fifth.

With 3 minutes remaining in the session, Rosberg turned a 1:38.318 to take third away from Massa.

With 1 minute remaining in the session, Hamilton set a 138.332 which put him into fourth.

The top ten at the end of FP3 were: Vettel, Webber, Rosberg, Hamilton, Alonso, Grosjean, Massa, Raikkonen, Hulkenberg and Jenson Button (McLaren.)