Practice 3 Report - A Frantic Session

By Dan Knutson in Montreal

With rain on the way, the drivers were anxious to get in their fast lap qualifying simulations before the track got slick. And that led to a frantic Free Practice 3 session that ended with Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari in the number one slot on the timing screens, and with Kevin Magnussen slamming into the wall in his Renault.

The ambient temperature at the start of the 60-minute session was 57degrees Fahrenheit (14 degrees Centigrade) and the track temperature was 64 degrees Fahrenheit (18 degrees Centigrade.) There was a 70 percent chance of rain.

The line-up for the weekend is: Mercedes - Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg. Ferrari - Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen. Williams Mercedes - Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas. Red Bull TAG Heuer - Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen . Force India Mercedes - Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez. Renault - Kevin Magnussen and Jolyon Palmer. Toro Rosso Ferrari - Daniil Kvyat and Carlos Sainz. Sauber Ferrari - Marcus Ericsson and Felipe Nasr. McLaren Honda - Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button. Manor Mercedes - Pascal Wehrlein and Rio Haryanto. Haas Ferrari - Romain Grosjean and Esteban Gutierrez.

Hamilton was quickest in FP1 and FP2.`"This has always been a strong circuit for me and I'm really enjoying being back here again," he said on Friday. "I've generally been really happy with the car so far. The focus today has been on working hard to make sure we have a good understanding of the tires."

Grosjean and Vettel were the first two out for the third session of the weekend. Vettel also became the first driver of the session to cut across the final chicane. It was Ricciardo who set the first quick lap time - a 1:14.955 - using Pirelli's super soft compound tires.

Then Verstappen clocked a 1:14.636 and Ricciardo posted the exact same lap time.

Hamilton did a run on the ultra soft tires but could only go third quickest with a lap in 1:15.014, and Rosberg promptly beat that with a 1:14.684. Then Verstappen improved to a 1:14.310. Hamilton's next run on the ultras yielded a lap in 1:14.473, moving him into second place.

Fifteen minutes into the session, Raikkonen popped into third with a time of 1:14.594, only to be replaced by Ricciardo who improved to a 1:14.590 using the super soft tires. Hamilton was on the move, too, clocking a 1:14.334 on the ultra softs, which was a mere 0.024 of a second slower than Verstappen's best.

Twenty minutes into the session, Raikkonen, on the ultras, set a time of 1:14.341 to get third place back. Rosberg was now fourth ahead of Ricciardo, Massa and Button.

Then Vettel topped them all with a time of 1:14.139 on the ultra soft Pirellis. He then topped himself with a subsequent lap of 1:14.068.

With 29 minutes remaining, Verstappen headed out on the ultra softs for the first time in the session. And the first drops of rain began to fall on the circuit. He improved to a 1:14.224 but remained second.

With 25 minutes remaining, Vettel broke below the 1:14 mark with a time of 1:13.919. Then Rosberg moved into third place with a lap of 1:14.316.

Now a light rain began to fall, but then it stopped and the track dried out.

With 13 minutes remaining, Magnussen slammed into the wall at Turn 7, and the session was red flagged. "I'm alright," a groggy Magnussen radioed to the team.

The frantic session was not restarted.

The order of the top 11, who were all covered by just one second, was: Vettel, Verstappen, Rosberg, Raikkonen, Hamilton, Ricciardo, Sainz, Perez, Massa and Hulkenberg.