{"id":6620,"date":"2018-10-20T15:39:02","date_gmt":"2018-10-20T19:39:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/?p=6620"},"modified":"2018-10-20T15:39:02","modified_gmt":"2018-10-20T19:39:02","slug":"united-states-gp-sebastian-vettel-tops-final-practice-session","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2018\/10\/20\/united-states-gp-sebastian-vettel-tops-final-practice-session\/","title":{"rendered":"United States GP – Sebastian Vettel Tops Final Practice Session"},"content":{"rendered":"

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<\/strong> cars who lead the timing sheet as FP3 came to a close. Sebastian Vettel<\/strong> put in a 1:33.797s lap to get first place, with teammate Kimi Raikkonen<\/strong> behind him with a +0.046 gap. With a very similar lap time, Mercedes\u2019 Lewis Hamilton<\/strong> finished third with a +0.073 gap to first.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ferrari Finish 1-2 In FP3<\/h1>\n

Teams were given the option to use Soft, Supersoft or Ultrasof<\/strong>t 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.<\/span><\/p>\n

A Spin From Brendon Hartley, An Attitude From Fernando Alonso<\/h2>\n

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<\/strong> spun coming out of turn 19. Fernando Alonso<\/strong> seemed to be having fun on the track, battling Valtteri Bottas<\/strong> at one point. Bottas\u2019 team commented about the situation on radio saying \u201cAlonso\u2019s just playing games at the moment\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ferrari Driving Observations<\/h2>\n

Although Vettel put in a better time than Raikkonen, the Sky Sports commentary team had the observation that \u201cA lot more steer and movement (was) going on \u201cfrom Sebastian (Vettel)\u201d, in comparison to Raikkonen. Both Ferrari cars opted for Ultrasoft tyres only while the Mercedes teams mixed Supersoft tyres into some of their stints.<\/span><\/p>\n

With Qualifying Approaching<\/h2>\n

Teams will have to apply the knowledge from this session and the two before when they head into qualifying later today. Ferrari\u2019s Sebastian Vettel heads into the session with a three-place grid penalty due to speeding during a red flag<\/strong><\/a> on Friday. He has to put on a phenomenal performance today and tomorrow to stay alive in the World Drivers’ Championship.<\/span><\/p>\n

FP3 Results:<\/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
Pos<\/span><\/td>\n#<\/span><\/td>\nDriver<\/span><\/td>\nTeam<\/span><\/td>\nLap Time<\/span><\/td>\nGap<\/span><\/td>\nLaps<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1<\/span><\/td>\n5<\/span><\/td>\nSebastian Vettel<\/span><\/td>\nFerrari<\/span><\/td>\n1:33.797<\/span><\/td>\n<\/td>\n20<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2<\/span><\/td>\n7<\/span><\/td>\nKimi Raikkonen<\/span><\/td>\nFerrari<\/span><\/td>\n1:33.843<\/span><\/td>\n+0.046<\/span><\/td>\n21<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
3<\/span><\/td>\n44<\/span><\/td>\nLewis Hamilton<\/span><\/td>\nMercedes<\/span><\/td>\n1:33.870<\/span><\/td>\n+0.073<\/span><\/td>\n23<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
4<\/span><\/td>\n77<\/span><\/td>\nValtteri Bottas<\/span><\/td>\nMercedes<\/span><\/td>\n1:34.556<\/span><\/td>\n+0.759<\/span><\/td>\n21<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
5<\/span><\/td>\n33<\/span><\/td>\nMax Verstappen<\/span><\/td>\nRed Bull<\/span><\/td>\n1:34.703<\/span><\/td>\n+0.906<\/span><\/td>\n21<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
6<\/span><\/td>\n3<\/span><\/td>\nDaniel Ricciardo<\/span><\/td>\nRed Bull<\/span><\/td>\n1:34.910<\/span><\/td>\n+1.113<\/span><\/td>\n20<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
7<\/span><\/td>\n16<\/span><\/td>\nCharles Leclerc<\/span><\/td>\nSauber<\/span><\/td>\n1:35.311<\/span><\/td>\n+1.614<\/span><\/td>\n21<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
8<\/span><\/td>\n11<\/span><\/td>\nSergio Perez<\/span><\/td>\nForce India<\/span><\/td>\n1:35.411<\/span><\/td>\n+1.614<\/span><\/td>\n21<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
9<\/span><\/td>\n55<\/span><\/td>\nCarlos Sainz<\/span><\/td>\nRenault<\/span><\/td>\n1:35.450<\/span><\/td>\n+1.653<\/span><\/td>\n21<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
10<\/span><\/td>\n8<\/span><\/td>\nRomain Grosjean<\/span><\/td>\nHaas<\/span><\/td>\n1:35.468<\/span><\/td>\n+1.671<\/span><\/td>\n19<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
11<\/span><\/td>\n31<\/span><\/td>\nEsteban Ocon<\/span><\/td>\nForce India<\/span><\/td>\n1:35.562<\/span><\/td>\n+1.765<\/span><\/td>\n22<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
12<\/span><\/td>\n10<\/span><\/td>\nPierre Gasly<\/span><\/td>\nToro Rosso<\/span><\/td>\n1:35.713<\/span><\/td>\n+1.916<\/span><\/td>\n27<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
13<\/span><\/td>\n20<\/span><\/td>\nKevin Magnussen<\/span><\/td>\nHaas<\/span><\/td>\n1:35.770<\/span><\/td>\n+1.973<\/span><\/td>\n19<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
14<\/span><\/td>\n27<\/span><\/td>\nNico Hulkenberg<\/span><\/td>\nRenault<\/span><\/td>\n1:35.882<\/span><\/td>\n+2.085<\/span><\/td>\n19<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
15<\/span><\/td>\n9<\/span><\/td>\nMarcus Ericsson<\/span><\/td>\nSauber<\/span><\/td>\n1:36.000<\/span><\/td>\n+2.203<\/span><\/td>\n21<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
16<\/span><\/td>\n18<\/span><\/td>\nLance Stroll<\/span><\/td>\nWilliams<\/span><\/td>\n1:36.188<\/span><\/td>\n+2.391<\/span><\/td>\n21<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
17<\/span><\/td>\n35<\/span><\/td>\nSergey Sirotkin<\/span><\/td>\nWilliams<\/span><\/td>\n1:36.193<\/span><\/td>\n+2.396<\/span><\/td>\n20<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
18<\/span><\/td>\n2<\/span><\/td>\nStoffel Vandoorne<\/span><\/td>\nMcLaren<\/span><\/td>\n1:36.302<\/span><\/td>\n+2.505<\/span><\/td>\n23<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
19<\/span><\/td>\n28<\/span><\/td>\nBrendon Hartley<\/span><\/td>\nToro Rosso<\/span><\/td>\n1:36.330<\/span><\/td>\n+2.533<\/span><\/td>\n26<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
20<\/span><\/td>\n14<\/span><\/td>\nFernando Alonso<\/span><\/td>\nMcLaren<\/span><\/td>\n1:36.332<\/span><\/td>\n+2.535<\/span><\/td>\n20<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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