Despite being the final practice session for the weekend, Free Practice 3 (FP3) was the only chance for drivers to hit a dry track before qualifying. On Friday, Mother Nature had robbed teams from dry running as downpours were constant. It was two Ferrari cars who lead the timing sheet as FP3 came to a close. Sebastian Vettel put in a 1:33.797s lap to get first place, with teammate Kimi Raikkonen behind him with a +0.046 gap. With a very similar lap time, Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton finished third with a +0.073 gap to first.
Ferrari Finish 1-2 In FP3
Teams were given the option to use Soft, Supersoft or Ultrasoft tyres. The majority of tyres used were Ultrasofts. At the start of the session the air temperature was 18 degrees celsius while track temperature was 20 degrees celsius. Most cars averaged around 20 or so laps in the session.
A Spin From Brendon Hartley, An Attitude From Fernando Alonso
For most drivers the session came and went without any real trouble. The only yellow flag on track was in the closing minutes when Brendon Hartley spun coming out of turn 19. Fernando Alonso seemed to be having fun on the track, battling Valtteri Bottas at one point. Bottas’ team commented about the situation on radio saying “Alonso’s just playing games at the moment”.
Ferrari Driving Observations
Although Vettel put in a better time than Raikkonen, the Sky Sports commentary team had the observation that “A lot more steer and movement (was) going on “from Sebastian (Vettel)”, in comparison to Raikkonen. Both Ferrari cars opted for Ultrasoft tyres only while the Mercedes teams mixed Supersoft tyres into some of their stints.
With Qualifying Approaching
Teams will have to apply the knowledge from this session and the two before when they head into qualifying later today. Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel heads into the session with a three-place grid penalty due to speeding during a red flag on Friday. He has to put on a phenomenal performance today and tomorrow to stay alive in the World Drivers’ Championship.
FP3 Results:
| Pos | # | Driver | Team | Lap Time | Gap | Laps |
| 1 | 5 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 1:33.797 | 20 | |
| 2 | 7 | Kimi Raikkonen | Ferrari | 1:33.843 | +0.046 | 21 |
| 3 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:33.870 | +0.073 | 23 |
| 4 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | 1:34.556 | +0.759 | 21 |
| 5 | 33 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 1:34.703 | +0.906 | 21 |
| 6 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull | 1:34.910 | +1.113 | 20 |
| 7 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Sauber | 1:35.311 | +1.614 | 21 |
| 8 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Force India | 1:35.411 | +1.614 | 21 |
| 9 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | Renault | 1:35.450 | +1.653 | 21 |
| 10 | 8 | Romain Grosjean | Haas | 1:35.468 | +1.671 | 19 |
| 11 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Force India | 1:35.562 | +1.765 | 22 |
| 12 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | Toro Rosso | 1:35.713 | +1.916 | 27 |
| 13 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | 1:35.770 | +1.973 | 19 |
| 14 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Renault | 1:35.882 | +2.085 | 19 |
| 15 | 9 | Marcus Ericsson | Sauber | 1:36.000 | +2.203 | 21 |
| 16 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Williams | 1:36.188 | +2.391 | 21 |
| 17 | 35 | Sergey Sirotkin | Williams | 1:36.193 | +2.396 | 20 |
| 18 | 2 | Stoffel Vandoorne | McLaren | 1:36.302 | +2.505 | 23 |
| 19 | 28 | Brendon Hartley | Toro Rosso | 1:36.330 | +2.533 | 26 |
| 20 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | McLaren | 1:36.332 | +2.535 | 20 |
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