Current championship leader Nico Rosberg has finished the final practice session a large six-tenths ahead of his team-mate Lewis Hamilton.
Although not quite as hot as FP2, the track temperature rose from 42 to 48 degrees over the hour-long session, with thermometers expected to climb further come qualifying.
Fernando Alonso was third fastest for Ferrari completing less than half the laps of Rosberg. His team-mate Kimi Raikkonen, who had an excellent second practice session, hit trouble 30 minutes into FP3 as a suspected fuel pump issue cut his running short.
He returned briefly to the track for another couple of laps but was forced to sit the rest of the session out as the problem persisted. He only managed to complete eight laps while finishing the session eighth.
McLaren’s ambition for an improved package continued this weekend as the team used their ‘joker’ which allows them to change their gear ratio setup.
Each team is allowed one ‘joker’ for 2014 as the gear ratios are selected for the entire season prior to the first race in Melbourne.
The session for McLaren didn’t go as smoothly as they’d have liked, as Jenson Button complained of understeer and lack of traction through some of the corners.
Williams are looking strong once again, with Felipe Massa finishing in fourth whilst his team-mate Valtteri Bottas was right behind in fifth.
2014 German Formula 1 Grand Prix – Free Practice 3 Results:
Driver | Team / Entry | Time | Gap | Laps | ||
1. | Nico Rosberg | ![]() |
Mercedes AMG Petronas F1W05 | 1:17.779 | 24 | |
2. | Lewis Hamilton | ![]() |
Mercedes AMG Petronas F1W05 | 1:18.380 | + 0.601 | 20 |
3. | Fernando Alonso | ![]() |
Scuderia Ferrari F14T | 1:18.384 | + 0.605 | 11 |
4. | Felipe Massa | ![]() |
Williams Martini Racing Mercedes FW36 | 1:18.575 | + 0.796 | 18 |
5. | Valtteri Bottas | ![]() |
Williams Martini Racing Mercedes FW36 | 1:18.611 | + 0.832 | 19 |
6. | Kevin Magnussen | ![]() |
McLaren Mercedes MP4-29 | 1:18.756 | + 0.977 | 16 |
7. | Daniel Ricciardo | ![]() |
Infiniti Red Bull Racing Renault RB10 | 1:18.769 | + 0.990 | 13 |
8. | Kimi Räikkönen | ![]() |
Scuderia Ferrari F14T | 1:18.842 | + 1.063 | 8 |
9. | Sebastian Vettel | ![]() |
Infiniti Red Bull Racing Renault RB10 | 1:18.890 | + 1.111 | 17 |
10. | Nico Hülkenberg | ![]() |
Force India Mercedes Mercedes VJM07 | 1:19.127 | + 1.348 | 19 |
11. | Daniil Kvyat | ![]() |
Scuderia Toro Rosso Renault STR9 | 1:19.131 | + 1.352 | 19 |
12. | Jean-Éric Vergne | ![]() |
Scuderia Toro Rosso Renault STR9 | 1:19.470 | + 1.691 | 20 |
13. | Jenson Button | ![]() |
McLaren Mercedes MP4-29 | 1:19.489 | + 1.710 | 15 |
14. | Sergio Pérez | ![]() |
Force India Mercedes Mercedes VJM07 | 1:19.505 | + 1.726 | 21 |
15. | Esteban Gutiérrez | ![]() |
Sauber F1 Team Ferrari C33 | 1:19.601 | + 1.822 | 23 |
16. | Romain Grosjean | ![]() |
Lotus F1 Team Renault E22 | 1:20.078 | + 2.299 | 23 |
17. | Jules Bianchi | ![]() |
Marussia F1 Team Ferrari MR03 | 1:20.198 | + 2.419 | 21 |
18. | Pastor Maldonado | ![]() |
Lotus F1 Team Renault E22 | 1:20.466 | + 2.687 | 19 |
19. | Adrian Sutil | ![]() |
Sauber F1 Team Ferrari C33 | 1:20.844 | + 3.065 | 6 |
20. | Kamui Kobayashi | ![]() |
Caterham F1 Team Renault CT05 | 1:21.018 | + 3.239 | 21 |
21. | Marcus Ericsson | ![]() |
Caterham F1 Team Renault CT05 | 1:23.077 | + 5.298 | 14 |
22. | Max Chilton | ![]() |
Marussia F1 Team Ferrari MR03 | 1:23.449 | + 5.670 | 7 |
Images via XPB Images
Josh Kruse
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