Max closes final free practice in Melbourne in P4

Published on 24 March 2018 by Raymond Snip

Max Verstappen finished fourth in the third free practice leading up to the Australian Grand Prix. He was the fastest driver on the intermediate tires. Sebastian Vettel was fastest in his Ferrari at the 5,3 kilometer Albert Park Street Circuit in front of teammate Kimi Raikkonen in P2, followed by Marcus Ericsson in third place.

It's raining in Melbourne at the start of the session, and the first men to go out are Romain Grosjean and Nico Hülkenberg. Stoffel Vandoorne, Brendon Hartley and Valtteri Bottas follow soon thereafter. All are out on the wet weather tires. They all only complete an installation lap. The first to go out on intermediates is Fernando Alonso. Both Aston Martin Red Bull Racing drivers choose to wait out the opening phase and stay in for the time being.

Fifteen minutes into the session Hülkenberg, driving on intermediates, is the first driver with a time on the chart, 1.40.863. At the same time, Max also reports on track, he also chose for intermediates under his RB14. The quick Dutchman sets the fastest time in his first flying lap. His next lap is a fast one as well. He improves to 1.35.548 and is therefore more than two seconds quicker than the competition.

Lance Stroll and Lewis Hamilton have not been on track yet. Both drivers are in the garage with a problem. Hamilton’s Mercedes gets a new steering wheel due to a problem with the electronics. Halfway through the session, Max returns to the pits while in P1. The track dries quickly and after a few minutes we see Max drop back to P4. The Dutchman got out of his car and looks on from inside the garage.

The problems with Lance Stroll’s Williams seem to have been fixed, the young driver  shows up on track with 15 minutes left on the clock. The gearbox has not been changed, so the Canadian will not face a penalty. Hamilton’s problems are also solved, the reigning world champion confirms this with the second place in rankings.

It is questionable whether there will be anyone driving on slicks during the final laps. During the qualification it is expected to be drier, that might also be the reason that there is little action on track. With the final five minutes on the clock, Max reports back to the track. Daniel Ricciardo and Sebastian Vettel also are out. Vettel is on ultra soft tires, Ricciardo and Max on intermediates. For a brief moment Max climbs to P1 with a 1.31.680. However, Vettel is much faster on the slicks and at the end of the session he puts his Ferrari on P1 with a 1.26.067.

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Results third free practice Australia: