Max fifth quickest in uneventful third free practice in Brazil

Published on 10 November 2018 by Raymond Snip

Max Verstappen finished fifth quickest during the third free practice session at Autódromo José Carlos Pace. The Dutchman lapped the circuit twelve times, finishing with a 1:08.733. The German Sebastian Vettel drove the fastest time, 1:07.948 and with that set a new track record, in a rather uneventful session.

The first half hour of the third free practice in Brazil is not very exciting. We see the Ferraris and Mercedes in the top four, with Sebastian Vettel leading the pack (1:08.857), followed by Lewis Hamilton. The super soft tyres are the most used option, also for the Aston Martin Red Bull Racing duo who, with 27 minutes left, leave the pit box for another run.

In his first flying lap Verstappen realizes a 1:09.405, at that moment good for P5. The Ferraris then increase the pace and after Raikkonen improves the fastest time first, teammate Vettel is quicker and squeezes out a 1:07.948 and records a new track record at Interlagos.

Both Red Bulls visit the pits for a new set of super soft tyres, but only complete one lap on them. In the final ten minutes Red Bull makes one final run, but it is busy on track. Max improves his time to 1:08.733, P5.

When the session is over, Vettel and World Champion Hamilton are on top of the time chart, followed by their teammates. Red Bull Racing follows in fifth and sixth place, with Max leading his team mate with a difference of only five hundredths. However, the gap to the leaders is eight tenths, so it does not look like they will be able to fight for pole position.

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Results third free practice Brazil: