Vettel smashes lap record to go fastest in FP3

  • Published on 29 Jul 2017 11:02
  • comments 2
  • By: Fergal Walsh

Sebastian Vettel ended the final practice in Budapest on top, obliterating the lap record set by Rubens Barrichello in 2004. The German set a lap time of 1:17.017 to go much faster than the rest of the field, with teammate Kimi Raikkonen in P2.

Raikkonen was just under half a second down on Vettel, with both Ferrari's clearing rivals Mercedes on the track. Lewis Hamilton's fast lap was scruffy meaning he ended practice in fifth place, behind teammate Valtteri Bottas and Max Verstappen.

Bottas himself was eight-tenths of a second down on Vettel. Daniel Ricciardo ending up eighth by was given a massive headache, as he was forced to pull over trackside with a gearbox issue. 

McLaren further strengthened its place inside the top ten, with Stoffel Vandoorne and Fernando Alonso completing practice in sixth and ninth. The two were separated by two-tenths of a second and are looking strong for a possible double points finish.

Both Renault's finished inside the top ten with Jolyon Palmer finally getting through a trouble free session and completing a number of laps. Nico Hulkenberg pulled together a strong lap to go seventh fastest. 

Worryingly for Williams, it appears that Felipe Massa may not be fit enough to take part in the rest of the weekend as he fell ill last night. Mechanics were spotted taking away the pedals and seat in apparent preparation for Paul di Resta, the team's reserve driver. Both Massa and Stroll had an underwhelming session, finishing seventeenth and eighteenth. 

Force India's consistent run of points looks threatened around the Hungaroring, with drivers Esteban Ocon and Sergio Perez only managing twelfth and fourteenth, four tenths away from the top ten. Ocon was sandwiched in between both Toro Rosso's, who also ended up outside the top ten.

The Haas VF-17 continues to look a handful around the tight and twisty circuit with Romain Grosjean further complaining about the balance. He and teammate Kevin Magnussen found themselves in fifteenth and sixteenth at the chequered flag, with Sauber racers Pascal Wehrlein and Marcus Ericsson rounding out the time sheets.

 

Fergal Walsh

HU Hungaroring - 29 July 2017

Replies (2)

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  • Interesting about di Resta, thats a big story

    • + 0
    • Jul 29 2017 - 12:16
  • Second practice with Vandoorne in front of Alonso.

    • + 0
    • Jul 29 2017 - 19:37

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