Spanish GP 2015

MAY 9, 2015

Practice 3 Report - Not Perfect

Lewis Hamilton, Spanish GP 2015
© The Cahier Archive

 

Lewis Hamilton was fast on Friday but he did not have a perfect time in Free Practice 3 on Saturday. A spin and a brake lock up relegated him to third place behind Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg and Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel.

The ambient temperature at the start of the session was 66 degrees Fahrenheit (19 degrees Centigrade) and the track temperature was 72 degrees Fahrenheit (22 degrees Centigrade). There was zero percent chance of rain.

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 Roberto Merhi. Sauber - Marcus Ericsson and Felipe Nasr.

Maldonado got things going in his Lotus. His teammate Grosjean and Button followed him out onto the track. But it was Nasr who set the first time - a 1:31.478.

8 minutes into the session, Ricciardo clocked a 1:29.027. He would soon lower that to a 1:28.656.

But then the Ferraris got up to speed, with Raikkonen setting a 1:27.330 and Vettel a 1:27.840.

The Toro Rossos continued to look strong, with Verstappen and Sainz fourth and fifth in the early going.

24 minutes into the session, Hamilton had yet to clock a lap time, and Rosberg's best was only a 1:35.316. Rosberg said he was struggling to get temperature into the rear brakes.

25 minutes into the session, Ricciardo headed out on the medium tires. He set a 1:27.048.

28 minutes into the session, Rosberg moved into third with a lap of 1:27.418 on the hard tires. Then Hamilton, on the hards, slammed in a 1:26.965 and Rosberg responded with a 1:26.777.

31 minutes into the session, Hamilton had a smoky half spin at Turn 3.

With 22 minutes remaining in the session, the top six were: Rosberg, Hamilton, Ricciardo, Raikkonen, Bottas and Vettel. Kvyat had yet to turn a lap.

With 17 minutes remaining in the session, Kvyat finally got out on track.

With 16 minutes remaining in the session, everybody was in the pits except Kvyat.

With 15 minutes remaining in the session, Hulkenberg headed out on the soft tires. He went front 17th to 7th with a time of 1:28.082.

With 9 minutes remaining in the session, Bottas went ahead with a 1:26.682. Vettel beat that with a 1:26.177, and Rosberg beat that with a 1:26.021.

With 8 minutes remaining in the session, Hamilton went into third with a 1:26.222.

Nobody was going to beat Rosberg now, so he stayed on top of the timing screens for the last minutes.

The top 10 at the end of FP3 were: Rosberg, Vettel, Hamilton, Bottas, Raikkonen, Ricciardo, Massa, Verstappen, Kvyat and Sainz.