Hungarian GP: Ferrari dominates FP3, Ricciardo hits trouble
Sebastian Vettel shattered the Hungaroring track record as he set a scintillating pace in final practice for Formula 1's Hungarian Grand Prix.
Photo by: Charles Coates / Motorsport Images
Vettel clocked a 1m17.017s on the super-softs during his qualifying simulation to finish the session 0.475s quicker than Ferrari teammate Kimi Raikkonen.
The lap was 1.464 seconds quicker than the previous track record, set by Rubens Barrichello in 2004.
Mercedes struggled for pace, with Valtteri Bottas Ferrari's closest challenger in third, 0.897s off the pace, and Lewis Hamilton half a second further back in fifth.
Mercedes focused on running the soft tyre in the first half of the session while the rest of the field chose the supersoft rubber.
Vettel set the early pace using that compound, clocking a 1m17.790s, 0.119s quicker than teammate Raikkonen.
Hamilton's best effort on the softs was 0.949s off the leading pace, with Bottas a further tenth back.
Attention then turned to qualifying preparation, with teams running low fuel and bolting on a fresh set of supersofts.
Vettel slashed seven tenths off his previous time on the softs to extend his advantage at the top of the standings.
When Mercedes tried the supersofts, they were unable to match that pace, with Hamilton struggling for grip and encountering a couple of off-track excursions.
Max Verstappen was the leading Red Bull driver in fourth, 1.177s off the pace, with teammate Daniel Ricciardo, a half-a-second further back in eighth.
But Ricciardo, who set the pace in Friday practice, failed to complete a qualifying simulation after stopping on track midway through the session.
Stoffel Vandoorne pumped in an impressive lap in the closing stages to vault up to sixth, 1.621s off the pace, two tenths quicker than McLaren teammate Fernando Alonso.
Renault's Nico Hulkenberg was seventh while teammate Jolyon Palmer, who had his first clean session of the weekend, completed the top 10.
Felipe Massa ended his session early after the Williams driver felt unwell again.
The Brazilian was taken to hospital in Budapest after Friday practice for precautionary checks but was given the all-clear to compete in FP3.
After 12 laps, he asked the team to stop with his fitness set to be evaluated ahead of qualifying.
If he is not able to take part, the likely replacement will be Williams reserve driver Paul di Resta, who last competed in F1 with Force India in 2013.
Cla | Driver | Chassis | Engine | Laps | Time | Gap |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | Ferrari | 17 | 1'17.017 | |
2 | Kimi Raikkonen | Ferrari | Ferrari | 16 | 1'17.492 | 0.475 |
3 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | Mercedes | 15 | 1'17.914 | 0.897 |
4 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | TAG | 25 | 1'18.194 | 1.177 |
5 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | Mercedes | 14 | 1'18.434 | 1.417 |
6 | Stoffel Vandoorne | McLaren | Honda | 18 | 1'18.638 | 1.621 |
7 | Nico Hulkenberg | Renault | Renault | 20 | 1'18.699 | 1.682 |
8 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull | TAG | 7 | 1'18.714 | 1.697 |
9 | Fernando Alonso | McLaren | Honda | 14 | 1'18.884 | 1.867 |
10 | Jolyon Palmer | Renault | Renault | 19 | 1'18.956 | 1.939 |
11 | Carlos Sainz Jr. | Toro Rosso | Renault | 22 | 1'19.300 | 2.283 |
12 | Esteban Ocon | Force India | Mercedes | 22 | 1'19.352 | 2.335 |
13 | Daniil Kvyat | Toro Rosso | Renault | 23 | 1'19.455 | 2.438 |
14 | Sergio Perez | Force India | Mercedes | 22 | 1'19.609 | 2.592 |
15 | Romain Grosjean | Haas | Ferrari | 21 | 1'19.622 | 2.605 |
16 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | Ferrari | 19 | 1'19.895 | 2.878 |
17 | Felipe Massa | Williams | Mercedes | 12 | 1'20.255 | 3.238 |
18 | Lance Stroll | Williams | Mercedes | 24 | 1'20.379 | 3.362 |
19 | Pascal Wehrlein | Sauber | Ferrari | 24 | 1'20.446 | 3.429 |
20 | Marcus Ericsson | Sauber | Ferrari | 19 | 1'20.748 | 3.731 |
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