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Australian GP: Vettel tops FP3 Ferrari 1-2 in drying conditions

Sebastian Vettel timed his fastest lap perfectly as wet weather gave way to a drying track in Melbourne for the final practice session ahead of qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix.

Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari SF-71H

Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari SF-71H

Sutton Images

Fernando Alonso, McLaren MCL33
Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari SF71H
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB14
Marcus Ericsson, Sauber C37
Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes-AMG F1 W09 EQ Power+
Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes-AMG F1 W09 EQ Power+
Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes-AMG F1 W09 EQ Power+
Charles Leclerc, Sauber C37
Marcus Ericsson, Sauber C37
Brendon Hartley, Scuderia Toro Rosso STR13
Rain drops on a Honda logo on the nose of the Toro Rosso STR13 Honda
Rain continues to fall in the paddock
Marcus Ericsson, Sauber C37
Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari SF71H
Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull Racing RB14 Tag Heuer
Stoffel Vandoorne, McLaren MCL33 Renault
Nico Hulkenberg, Renault Sport F1 Team R.S. 18
Romain Grosjean, Haas F1 Team VF-18 Ferrari
Fernando Alonso, McLaren, enters his cockpit
Esteban Ocon, Force India VJM11 Mercedes

The Ferrari driver was one of a handful to gamble on the ultrasoft tyre in the dying seconds of the hour-long session, which had for the most part been limited to running on intermediates thanks to morning storms over Melbourne.

It was a gamble that played off, Vettel going fastest at the flag with a 1m26.067s that left him more than two seconds clear of the rest of the field.

Teammate Kimi Raikkonen and Sauber's Marcus Ericsson were second and third quickest, having also run the ultrasoft right at the end of the session, while Red Bull's Max Verstappen was the best of those to have not run a slick tyre down in fourth.

Wet conditions thanks to the morning thunderstorms meant the first 10 minutes were mostly exploratory running on full wets, Fernando Alonso the first to brave the intermediates seven minutes in.

Even then nobody bothered to set a time until the 18-minute mark, Renault's Nico Hulkenberg going top by default with a 1m40.863s on the intermediates, despite a massive moment on the way out of Turn 10.

Hulkenberg made progress on his next two laps, dipping into the 1m38s, before Verstappen took over at the top with a 1m37.419s on his first flyer. He made swift work of his own benchmark too, a 1m35.548s on the same run leaving him the best part of two seconds clear of the field.

Right before the midway point of the session Daniel Ricciardo closed the gap to his teammate to 0.4s, at which point conditions were judged good enough to enable DRS.

Five minutes later times began to tumble, Ricciardo going fastest with a 1m35.265s before being topped by Alonso's 1m34.298s.

The two Mercedes drivers then drifted to the top, Valtteri Bottas taking over P1 with a 1m34.174s as Lewis Hamilton slotted in behind, 0.051s off his teammate.

Hamilton was short on running to that point, however, having been delayed by an issue when trying to make his first run 25 minutes in. "I can't pull away," he told the team over the radio after not being able to exit the garage. A steering wheel change and a 10-minute wait required before the world champion could get on track.

Bottas' fastest time on inters stood until the final two minutes, when the timesheet came alive with a mix of drivers switching to ultrasofts and others making the most of the near-dry conditions on fresh intermediates.

First it was Renault's Carlos Sainz who went quickest on a set of inters, before Verstappen, also on the inters, jumped him by 1.5s with a 1m31.680s.

Vettel, who had been the very first to roll out of pitlane on slicks, then went more than five seconds clear of everyone with his 1m26.067s, the margin shrinking back to 2.4s when Raikkonen and Ericsson completed their ultrasoft laps at the flag.

Ricciardo made a late gain on the intermediate to slot into sixth behind Vertsappen and Sainz, while Bottas and Hamilton were bumped down to seventh and eighth respectively.

Stoffel Vandoorne and Alonso rounded out the top 10, McLaren having flirted with the idea of a slick tyre but ultimately opting against a late switch.

Elsewhere in the field, Lance Stroll's running was limited by a gearbox repair that meant he didn't get on track until there was just 16 minutes to go. The Canadian wound up 14th, three tenths behind rookie Williams teammate Sergey Sirotkin.

The Force Indias effectively did no running at all, Esteban Ocon and Sergio Perez left anchored to the bottom of the timesheet after not setting a single representative time.

Australian GP FP3

PosDriverChassisEngineLapsTimeGap
1 germany  Sebastian Vettel  Ferrari Ferrari 15 1'26.067  
2 finland  Kimi Raikkonen  Ferrari Ferrari 13 1'28.499 2.432
3 sweden  Marcus Ericsson  Sauber Ferrari 14 1'28.890 2.823
4 netherlands  Max Verstappen  Red Bull TAG 8 1'31.680 5.613
5 spain  Carlos Sainz Jr.  Renault Renault 11 1'33.172 7.105
6 australia  Daniel Ricciardo  Red Bull TAG 14 1'34.043 7.976
7 finland  Valtteri Bottas  Mercedes Mercedes 14 1'34.174 8.107
8 united_kingdom  Lewis Hamilton  Mercedes Mercedes 7 1'34.225 8.158
9 belgium  Stoffel Vandoorne  McLaren Renault 15 1'34.233 8.166
10 spain  Fernando Alonso  McLaren Renault 13 1'34.298 8.231
11 france  Pierre Gasly  Toro Rosso Honda 16 1'34.990 8.923
12 new_zealand  Brendon Hartley  Toro Rosso Honda 16 1'35.438 9.371
13 russia  Sergey Sirotkin  Williams Mercedes 16 1'35.589 9.522
14 canada  Lance Stroll  Williams Mercedes 8 1'35.828 9.761
15 france  Romain Grosjean  Haas Ferrari 6 1'36.171 10.104
16 monaco  Charles Leclerc  Sauber Ferrari 12 1'36.448 10.381
17 denmark  Kevin Magnussen  Haas Ferrari 7 1'36.807 10.740
18 germany  Nico Hulkenberg  Renault Renault 8 1'38.482 12.415
19 france  Esteban Ocon  Force India Mercedes 1    
20 mexico  Sergio Perez  Force India Mercedes 1    

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