{"id":4246,"date":"2018-04-28T07:37:28","date_gmt":"2018-04-28T11:37:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/?p=4246"},"modified":"2018-04-28T07:37:28","modified_gmt":"2018-04-28T11:37:28","slug":"4246","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2018\/04\/28\/4246\/","title":{"rendered":"Azerbaijan GP – Sebastian Vettel In Front As Lewis Hamilton Closes The Gap"},"content":{"rendered":"

The third free practice session prior to the Azerbaijan Grand Prix<\/strong> qualifying started with cold temperatures and with some raindrops on the track. Sebastian Vettel (Scuderia Ferrari)<\/strong>\u00a0and Lewis Hamilton<\/strong>\u00a0(Mercedes)<\/strong> recovered after a troubled Friday and led the timesheets in the last practice session of the weekend.<\/p>\n

Sebastian Vettel In Front As Lewis Hamilton Closes The Gap<\/h1>\n
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Quick look at the weather before the start<\/p>\n

It’s overcast at @BakuCityCircuit<\/a> \u2601#AzerbaijanGP<\/a> ?? pic.twitter.com\/VNO7dbKbtf<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Formula 1 (@F1) 28 de abril de 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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?@Charles_Leclerc<\/a>: “Is it raining?”<\/p>\n

Time to check the radar#AzerbaijanGP<\/a> ?? #F1<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/FGtqt0JydC<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Formula 1 (@F1) 28 de abril de 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Ferrari showed speed throughout the entire session, with Vettel on top of the timecharts consistently. Kimi Raikkonen<\/strong> marked the third fastest time, behind Vettel and Hamilton.<\/p>\n

Mercedes<\/strong> continued their struggles in the middle sector, but Hamilton managed to split the Ferraris. Valtteri Bottas<\/strong> recorded the fifth fastest time.<\/p>\n

Max Verstappen<\/strong> positioned his Red Bull Racing<\/strong> car fourth, whilst his teammate Daniel Ricciardo<\/strong> was out of the top ten in 12th place.<\/p>\n

Sergio P\u00e9rez<\/strong> showed speed and climbed up to fifth place in his Force India<\/strong>. The Mexican driver was eight\u00a0tenths behind the leader. Esteban Ocon<\/strong> stayed in ninth place.<\/p>\n

Williams: Two sides of the coin<\/h2>\n

With less than 10 minutes left, Williams<\/strong> was showing their best form of the year. Lance Stroll<\/strong> was eighth and his Russian teammate, Sergey Sirotkin<\/strong>, had the tenth best lap time.<\/p>\n

But the Russian crashed into the wall, forcing a red flag and compromising his chances in qualifying.<\/p>\n

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#F1<\/a> #AzerbaijanGP<\/a> ??#Sirotkin<\/a> hit the wall..?#Williams<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/EcKL4X5hHJ<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Alessandro\u2122? ? (@BerrageizF1) 28 de abril de 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The event resumed with three minutes on the clock, but there weren’t too many changes in the pecking order.<\/p>\n

Every team used the ultrasoft tire, except for Renault. The French team’s drivers lined up in 16th (Carlos Sainz<\/strong>) and 17th place (Nico Hulkenberg<\/strong>).<\/p>\n

FP3 Results:<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
POS<\/abbr><\/th>\nNO<\/abbr><\/th>\nDRIVER<\/th>\nCAR<\/th>\nTIME<\/th>\nGAP<\/th>\nLAPS<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
1<\/td>\n5<\/td>\nSebastian<\/span>\u00a0Vettel<\/span><\/td>\nFERRARI<\/td>\n1:43.091<\/td>\n<\/td>\n17<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2<\/td>\n44<\/td>\nLewis<\/span>\u00a0Hamilton<\/span><\/td>\nMERCEDES<\/td>\n1:43.452<\/td>\n+0.361s<\/span><\/td>\n16<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
3<\/td>\n7<\/td>\nKimi<\/span>\u00a0R\u00e4ikk\u00f6nen<\/span><\/td>\nFERRARI<\/td>\n1:43.493<\/td>\n+0.402s<\/span><\/td>\n17<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
4<\/td>\n33<\/td>\nMax<\/span>\u00a0Verstappen<\/span><\/td>\nRED BULL RACING TAG HEUER<\/td>\n1:43.519<\/td>\n+0.428s<\/span><\/td>\n17<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
5<\/td>\n77<\/td>\nValtteri\u00a0<\/span>Bottas<\/span><\/td>\nMERCEDES<\/td>\n1:43.569<\/td>\n+0.478s<\/span><\/td>\n20<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
6<\/td>\n11<\/td>\nSergio<\/span>\u00a0Perez<\/span><\/td>\nFORCE INDIA MERCEDES<\/td>\n1:43.936<\/td>\n+0.845s<\/span><\/td>\n9<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
7<\/td>\n20<\/td>\nKevin<\/span>\u00a0Magnussen<\/span><\/td>\nHAAS FERRARI<\/td>\n1:43.958<\/td>\n+0.867s<\/span><\/td>\n11<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
8<\/td>\n18<\/td>\nLance<\/span>\u00a0Stroll<\/span><\/td>\nWILLIAMS MERCEDES<\/td>\n1:44.123<\/td>\n+1.032s<\/span><\/td>\n8<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
9<\/td>\n31<\/td>\nEsteban<\/span>\u00a0Ocon<\/span><\/td>\nFORCE INDIA MERCEDES<\/td>\n1:44.220<\/td>\n+1.129s<\/span><\/td>\n11<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
10<\/td>\n35<\/td>\nSergey<\/span>\u00a0Sirotkin<\/span><\/td>\nWILLIAMS MERCEDES<\/td>\n1:44.534<\/td>\n+1.443s<\/span><\/td>\n9<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
11<\/td>\n14<\/td>\nFernando<\/span>\u00a0Alonso<\/span><\/td>\nMCLAREN RENAULT<\/td>\n1:44.763<\/td>\n+1.672s<\/span><\/td>\n12<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
12<\/td>\n3<\/td>\nDaniel<\/span>\u00a0Ricciardo<\/span><\/td>\nRED BULL RACING TAG HEUER<\/td>\n1:44.861<\/td>\n+1.770s<\/span><\/td>\n17<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
13<\/td>\n10<\/td>\nPierre<\/span>\u00a0Gasly<\/span><\/td>\nSCUDERIA TORO ROSSO HONDA<\/td>\n1:44.905<\/td>\n+1.814s<\/span><\/td>\n16<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
14<\/td>\n16<\/td>\nCharles<\/span>\u00a0Leclerc<\/span><\/td>\nSAUBER FERRARI<\/td>\n1:45.218<\/td>\n+2.127s<\/span><\/td>\n15<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
15<\/td>\n8<\/td>\nRomain<\/span>\u00a0Grosjean<\/span><\/td>\nHAAS FERRARI<\/td>\n1:45.261<\/td>\n+2.170s<\/span><\/td>\n12<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
16<\/td>\n55<\/td>\nCarlos<\/span>\u00a0Sainz<\/span><\/td>\nRENAULT<\/td>\n1:45.432<\/td>\n+2.341s<\/span><\/td>\n15<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
17<\/td>\n27<\/td>\nNico<\/span>\u00a0Hulkenberg<\/span><\/td>\nRENAULT<\/td>\n1:45.456<\/td>\n+2.365s<\/span><\/td>\n11<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
18<\/td>\n2<\/td>\nStoffel<\/span>\u00a0Vandoorne<\/span><\/td>\nMCLAREN RENAULT<\/td>\n1:45.505<\/td>\n+2.414s<\/span><\/td>\n13<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
19<\/td>\n9<\/td>\nMarcus<\/span>\u00a0Ericsson<\/span><\/td>\nSAUBER FERRARI<\/td>\n1:45.910<\/td>\n+2.819s<\/span><\/td>\n17<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
20<\/td>\n28<\/td>\nBrendon<\/span>\u00a0Hartley<\/span><\/td>\nSCUDERIA TORO ROSSO HONDA<\/td>\n1:46.186<\/td>\n+3.095s<\/span><\/td>\n11<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

MAIN PHOTO:
\nEmbed from Getty Images<\/a>