Formula 1 returned for the third and final practice session ahead of the Australian Grand Prix, with teams and drivers having their final time slot of free running around the Albert Park Circuit before qualifying to perfect their cars in terms of setup.
Sebastian Vettel Fastest in Australian Grand Prix Third Practice
While Lewis Hamilton set the pace in first and second practice for Mercedes, Sebastian Vettel was fastest for Ferrari in third practice. Vettel set the fastest lap of the race weekend so far and also broke the lap record that he himself set in 2011, setting a best lap time of a 1:23.380. Following Vettel in second place was Valtteri Bottas for Mercedes, just under 0.5 seconds slower than the Ferrari.
Lewis Hamilton ended the session in third fastest and was closely followed by Kimi Raikkonen who ended the session in fourth. In third practice Raikkonen had a rear left puncture and also continued straight at turn 13 with his engine cutting out. Nevertheless, the Finn managed to get the car restarted and returned to the pit lane.
Nico Hulkenberg posted an impressive lap time of a 1:25.063 and managed to finish practice 3 in fifth place for Renault, being faster than Daniel Ricciardo who was sixth for Red Bull Racing.
Romain Grsoejan was seventh fastest for Haas F1 and managed to finish inside the top ten for the third time in all of the three practice sessions of the race weekend. Following Grosjean in eighth and ninth were the two Toro Rosso drivers of Carlos Sainz Jr and Daniil Kvyat who once again looked strong ahead of qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix. Rounding out the top ten was Kevin Magnussen in the second Haas, being 2.758 seconds slower than Vettel in first place.
Felipe Massa finished the session in 11th place for Williams and was only 0.032 seconds ahead of Max Verstappen who finished the session in 12th place. In the third practice session, Verstappen only managed to complete six laps and was 1.1 seconds slower than his team mate, Daniel Ricciardo.
Sergio Perez was 13th fastest for Force India, 0.099 seconds faster than Fernando Alonso for McLaren in 14th. Stoffel Vandoorne followed Alonso in 15th place, allowing McLaren to split the two Force India cars after Esteban Ocon finished the session in 16th.
Lance Stroll ended the session as 17th fastest in the second Williams after making contact with the wall in sector two which brought about an end to his session. At the time of the accident, Stroll was on a personal best lap time, being green through the first sector. By making contact with the wall and stopping out on track, the Canadian brought out the second red flag of the race weekend and also forced the session to end early, with third practice not being restarted.
Marcus Ericsson was 18th fastest followed by Jolyon Palmer in the second Renault in 19th. Rounding out the field in 20th place was the second Sauber of Antonio Giovinazzi, who has replaced Pascal Wehrlein for the remainder of the race weekend of the Australian Grand Prix after Wehrlein deemed himself unfit to race following the injuries he sustained in an accident at the Race of Champions in January.
With practice 3 being the final practice session before qualifying, who will get pole position remains completely unknown. Until the session, it looked as if Mercedes may be the team to claim the first pole position of the 2017 season, however, since Vettel’s impressive performance in FP3, it appears as if it could be anyone’s day in qualifying. Of the top three teams following this session, it looks as if Red Bull Racing are in third place at the moment, with third practice suggesting that the team are dropping off behind Mercedes and Ferrari, with the Milton Keynes based team looking less competitive as the race weekend progresses. Meanwhile in the midfield of the pack, the battle still looks very close, with Toro Rosso, Haas, Williams, and Renault all being of similar performance, with Force India trailing this pack.
Results from Practice 3 of the Australian Grand Prix:
- Sebastian Vettel Ferrari, 1:23.380
- Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes, 1:23.859
- Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 1:23.870
- Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, 1:23.988
- Nico Hulkenberg, Renault, 1:25.063
- Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull Racing, 1:25.092
- Romain Grosjean, Haas F1, 1:25.581
- Carlos Sainz Jr, Toro Rosso, 1:25.948
- Daniil Kvyat, Toro Rosso, 1:26.049
- Kevin Magnussen, Haas F1, 1:28.138
- Felipe Massa, Williams, 1:26.237
- Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, 1:26.269
- Sergio Perez, Force India, 1:26.457
- Fernando Alonso, McLaren, 1:26.556
- Stoffel Vandoorne, McLaren, 1:26.699
- Esteban Ocon, Force India, 1:27.103
- Lance Stroll, Williams, 1:27.327
- Marcus Ericsson, Sauber, 1:27.402
- Jolyon Palmer, Renault, 1:28.320
- Antonio Giovinazzi, Sauber, 1:28.583
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