Max fifth after third free practice in Barcelona
Published on 13 May 2017 by Mike Motilall
Max Verstappen finished in fifth after the third free practice in the run up to the Spanish Grand Prix. On the 4,655 meter long Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Ferrari driving Kimi Raikkonen was the quickest, followed by team mate Sebastian Vettel. Lewis Hamilton came in third in his Mercedes.
At the start of the session, the weather is fine in Barcelona. With a temperature of 22 degrees and a track temperature of 29 degrees, there is no reason to complain. The teams and drivers get themselves ready for an hour's long practice, during which the first part is usually used for some long runs and the last part for a qualifying simulation.
At Mercedes, there are some issues with Valtteri Bottas’ car. A water leak keeps the Fin inside, but the team is working all out to still get the car even in this practice out on track. Romain Grosjean is the first to venture out, followed in his wake by Marcus Ericsson and Kevin Magnussen. Fernando Alonso is out on track very early and the McLaren team and Spanish fans hope for a problem free session. However, rather quickly he reports a small problem on the radio, and is told to change a setting on his steering wheel.
At Red Bull Racing all is calm and Daniel Ricciardo is the first driver of the team to appear out on track for an installation lap after some eight minutes. Max gets strapped in in his RB13 at that moment, ready for his first run of the day. After well over ten minutes, we see the youngster out on track. Max also returns to the pits after an installation lap.
After twenty minutes we see both Ferrari’s in the lead, while Red Bull Racing and Mercedes haven’t clocked any time yet. When this is eventually done by Hamilton, he settles himself between the Ferrari-drivers in second place, three tenths behind Kimi Raikkonen.
With still half an hour to go, Max is out on track again, together with Ricciardo. Both are on a set of the medium compound tyres. The fast going Dutchman is third after his first flying lap and is the quickest in the final sector. He trails Raikkonen is his Ferrari at that moment by eight tenths. In the next laps both Red Bulls better their times and after their run, Max is in third and Ricciardo is on P5.
With still eight minutes to go, we see Bottas on track for the first time. The Red Bulls are nowhere to be seen. When Max eventually gets back out on track, with still seven minutes remaining, he has dropped to P13 by then. On a set of the super soft tyres, he finishes in fifth. Ricciardo is unable to follow the Dutchman’s tempo and comes in sixth.
Spanish Grand Prix - Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya - Saturday 13 May
RESULTS THIRD FREE PRACTICE 01 7 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 1:20.214 20 02 5 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1:20.456 +0.242s 7 03 44 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:20.595 +0.381s 12 04 77 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 1:20.868 +0.654s 7 05 33 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer 1:21.025 +0.811s 14 06 3 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer 1:21.249 +1.035s 15 07 27 Nico Hulkenberg Renault 1:21.670 +1.456s 13 08 19 Felipe Massa Williams Mercedes 1:21.746 +1.532s 19 09 55 Carlos Sainz Toro Rosso 1:21.835 +1.621s 19 10 14 Fernando Alonso McLaren Honda 1:22.093 +1.879s 16 11 8 Romain Grosjean Haas Ferrari 1:22.128 +1.914s 21 12 20 Kevin Magnussen Haas Ferrari 1:22.214 +2.000s 12 13 11 Sergio Perez Force India Mercedes 1:22.237 +2.023s 19 14 31 Esteban Ocon Force India Mercedes 1:22.297 +2.083s 22 15 26 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso 1:22.391 +2.177s 15 16 9 Marcus Ericsson Sauber Ferrari 1:22.513 +2.299s 20 17 18 Lance Stroll Williams Mercedes 1:22.574 +2.360s 19 18 30 Jolyon Palmer Renault 1:22.755 +2.541s 13 19 2 Stoffel Vandoorne McLaren Honda 1:22.853 +2.639s 15 20 94 Pascal Wehrlein Sauber Ferrari 1:22.974 +2.760s 19
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