Singapore GP 2015

SEPTEMBER 19, 2015

Practice 3 Report - Streets ahead

Sebastian Vettel, Singapore GP 2015
© Active Pictures

 

Ferrari and Red Bull were streets ahead of Mercedes in Free Practice 3 for the Singapore Grand Prix as Sebastian Vettel, Kimi Raikkonen, Daniil Kvyat and Daniel Ricciardo all lapped the Singapore streets quicker than Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg.

The line-up for the weekend was: Mercedes “ Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg. Red Bull Renault “ Daniel Ricciardo and Daniil Kvyat. Williams Mercedes “ Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas. Ferrari “ Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen. McLaren Honda “ Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button. Force India Mercedes “ Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez. Toro Rosso Renault “ Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz. Lotus Mercedes “ Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado. Marussia Ferrari “ Will Stevens and Alexander Rossi. Sauber “ Marcus Ericsson and Felipe Nasr.

Kvyat was quickest on Friday.

"We expected the car to perform better at this track because it has fewer straights," the Red Bull driver said. "This afternoon, it didn't look bad at all and our pace looks promising. I didn't do much running in the first session, so it was more of a challenge in FP2 and maybe slightly surprising that I did a quick lap immediately, but I felt comfortable straight away. It's good to be P1 for the first time. However, all the teams will be working hard overnight and we will have to see what the situation is. So I don't have any particular expectations for tomorrow."

The ambient temperature at the start of the session was 86 degrees Fahrenheit (30 degrees Centigrade) and the track temperature was 102 degrees Fahrenheit (39 degrees Centigrade).

Maldonado was first out followed by Rossi.

4 minutes into the session, Rossi set the first lap time “ 1:53.249. Ericsson beat that with a 1:50.770.

7 minutes into the session, Kvyat posted a 1:48.716, and Verstappen went off at Turn 7.

11 minutes into the session, Kvyat improved to a 1:47.968. he would then lower that to a 1:47.629.

15 minutes into the session, only nine drivers had set times.

20 minutes into the session, the top six were: Kvyat, Verstappen, Rosberg, Massa, Sainz and Hulkenberg.

21 minutes into the session, Hamilton went from last to second with a time of 1:47.969. He didn't stay there long as Rosberg beat him with a 1:47.891.

24 minutes into the session, Vettel went to the front with a lap of 1:46.728. Raikkonen took over second place.

29 minutes into the session, everybody was on track except Alonso.

Midway through FP3 the top six were: Vettel, Raikkonen, Kvyat, Rosberg, Hamilton and Ricciardo.

But the Red Bull drivers were speeding up, and Kvyat moved into second and Ricciardo into third.

So far the drivers were still using the soft compound slicks instead of the super soft.

With 25 minutes remaining in the session, only the Ferrari teammates were in the pits.

With 18 minutes remaining in the session, the top 10 were Vettel, Kvyat, Ricciardo, Raikkonen, Rosberg, Hamilton. Verstappen, Grosjean, Massa and Sainz.

With 15 minutes remaining in the session, only Rossi and Stevens were on track.

With 12 minutes remaining in the session, Ricciardo and Ericsson headed out on the super softs.

With 8 minutes remaining in the session, Ricciardo took first with a 1:46.359. He didn't stay there as Vettel, Raikkonen and Kvyat went one, two, three. Fifth and sixth belonged to Hamilton and Rosberg.

With 4 minutes remaining in the session, everybody was out on the track. But the top six remained the same: Vettel, Raikkonen, Kvyat, Ricciardo, Hamilton and Rosberg. Alonso, Sainz, Verstappen and Ericsson rounded out the top 10.