Scuderia Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel topped the times in the final practice session of the weekend ahead of the 2017 Canadian Grand Prix, two tenths of a second clear of team-mate Kimi Raikkonen, as Ferrari looked strong ahead of qualifying.
The German set a time of 1:12.572 to take the top spot on a set of the ultra-soft tyres, to make it a Ferrari one-two at the top of the board, in what has been a close weekend between the two teams so far.
Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team driver Lewis Hamilton was third, three tenths off Vettel’s pace, but did struggle to get a clean lap together during the first few laps of his qualifying simulation. Canada is a strong track for the Brit however, having won here on five occasions, including his first ever F1 victory, so expect more to come from the Mercedes driver this weekend.
Red Bull Racing driver Max Verstappen was fourth fastest, which was a good effort considering the disrupted Friday the Milton Keynes based squad endured with both of its drivers. A gearbox issue cost the Dutchman valuable track time in FP2, as well as the start of this FP3 session, as the mechanics continued to work on Verstappen’s car early on, before he was eventually able to join the action.
The second Mercedes of Valtteri Bottas was fifth, a further three tenths down the order, but he did make one of the saves of the session as the Mercedes snapped wildly on him coming out of Turn 9. The Finn miraculously kept it out of the wall and was able to continue on his way.
Renault Sport Formula 1 Team driver Nico Hulkenberg was a strong sixth for the French squad, who once again looked on the money here in Canada, just ahead of Williams Martini Racing driver Felipe Massa.
The second Red Bull of Daniel Ricciardo was down in eighth, but the Australian was playing catch up on the rest of the field after losing an engine on Friday.
Sahara Force India F1 Team driver Esteban Ocon finished the session in ninth, ahead of Scuderia Toro Rosso driver Carlos Sainz Jr, who completed the top ten. The Spaniard’s team-mate Daniil Kvyat was eleventh, ahead of returning McLaren Honda Formula 1 Team driver Fernando Alonso, who was back in a F1 car following his Indy 500 excursion. The Spaniard was troubled by a hydraulics failure on Friday, but thankfully remained untroubled during FP3.
Sergio Perez was thirteenth, having struggled to get a quick lap time in, ahead of Haas F1 Team driver Romain Grosjean and Renault driver Jolyon Palmer. The Brit was once again having problems with the RS17, which he described as “feeling awful coming out of the chicane”.
Stoffel Vandoorne was sixteenth, just ahead of the second Haas of Kevin Magnussen, with Canadian Lance Stroll taking part in his ever home race this weekend, in eighteenth.
Sauber F1 Team drivers Marcus Ericsson and Pascal Wehrlein once again propped up the bottom end of the grid, as the Swiss team continue to remain off the pace.
Once again it is extremely close between the Mercedes and Ferrari drivers at the front, with Red Bull best of the rest, and work to do. The top two teams are close over both one lap pace and even tighter over long run pace, which should make for another good battle in qualifying later, and on race day.
2017 Canadian Grand Prix – FP3 Results
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