F1 GP Singapore, Free Practice 3: Ferrari ahead of Mercedes, Vettel in the lead

Ferrari still leading in the last free practice session Singapore, but this time the baton passes to Sebastian Vettel, who with a record time of 1:38.054 took the top spot ahead of his teammate Raikkonen and at two Mercedes, half a second from the top. Great test of SF71-H which seems to be the ideal candidate for pole, and for another all-red row after the one won in Monza. To complete the top ten of this last outing before the evening qualifying we find Ricciardo, Verstappen – separated by more than a second – then Grosjean, Ocon, Perez and Alonso.

News – The air temperature was 29°C and the asphalt temperature was 36°C, when Ericsson Alonso and Sirotkin left the pits first, starting the third and final free practice session in Singapore. The two Ferraris choose the hypersoft compound for the qualifying simulation, while both Red Bull and Mercedes decide to concentrate their initial work on the yellow compound. The first times come from the SF71-H, with Kimi first and then Vettel in the lead: the German clocks 1:40.008. Verstappen complained several times about hearing strange noises coming from his power unit, even after checks in the pits on the software by the Red Bull mechanics.

After about twenty minutes, the cars of Hartley, Bottas, Stroll, Leclerc, Ericsson, Hulkenberg, Sirotkin and Hamilton join the cars behind the two Ferraris.

At mid-session all the drivers in the top ten are on hypersoft tyres, except Mercedes, with Vettel holding firm in the lead ahead of Raikkonen Ocon Perez Alonso Bottas Grosjean Gasly Vandoorne Magnussen. Vettel relaunches himself with a new set of hypersofts and lowers the reference time to 1:38.054.

Verstappen takes third position with the soft tyres, while Hamilton is ready to strike the blow with the hypersoft tyres. However, the Briton was unable to go beyond third place, 6 and then 5 tenths from the top. Fifteen minutes from the checkered flag Vettel continues to dominate ahead of Hamilton Bottas Verstappen Ocon Perez Alonso Ricciardo Grosjean.

In the final stages of the session the two Ferraris dedicated themselves to simulating the race pace with the softest compound, while the Red Bulls were the last to mount the hypersoft and launch. Verstappen set the fifth fastest time behind Ferrari and Mercedes, then overtaken by his teammate Ricciardo. The Dutchman will have time to complain one last time about his engine.

The session ends with Vettel in the lead ahead of Raikkonen and Hamilton.

F1 GP Singapore – Times, results and laps Free Practice 3