Ferrari duo comfortably on top in FP3!

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Ferrari seized the upper hand in FP3 for the Chinese Grand Prix, resuming its momentum from the start of the season.

After yesterday's wash-out and the cancellation of FP2, teams took full advantage of the dry conditions to accumulate as much mileage as possible.

Vettel put himself at the top of the timesheet with a 1'33.336 on the supersoft compound after 45 minutes, with team mate Kimi Raikkonen following suit just a tenth of a second behind.

Valtteri Bottas, who lost his T-wing early in the session, was the fastest Mercedes runner, but four tenths off Vettel's pace while Lewis Hamilton ended the session fourth, half a second away from the Ferraris.

Williams's Felipe Massa displayed a good form in fifth position while team mate Lance Stroll enjoyed a good session whihc he finsihed eighth.

The Williams pair sandwiched the Red Bull drivers who were more than one-and-a-half-seconds of the pace of the leaders, with Verstappen sixth and Ricciardo seventh.

Despite a spin, Jolyon Palmer enjoyed a trouble-free session, edging out his team mate for ninth while Hulkenberg was eleventh.

McLaren duo Fernando Alonso and Stoffel Vandoorne were predictably slow, closing the ranks alongside Sauber, with a massive gap of over two-and-a-half-seconds from the top of the field.

FP3 results

Pos	Driver	Team	Time	Gap	Laps
1	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	1:33.336s		20
2	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	1:33.389s	+ 0.053s	19
3	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	1:33.707s	+ 0.371s	26
4	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:33.879s	+ 0.543s	25
5	Felipe Massa	Williams	1:34.773s	+ 1.437s	23
6	Max Verstappen	Red Bull	1:34.946s	+ 1.610s	20
7	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull	1:35.092s	+ 1.756s	23
8	Lance Stroll	Williams	1:35.182s	+ 1.846s	24
9	Jolyon Palmer	Renault	1:35.192s	+ 1.856s	21
10	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso	1:35.223s	+ 1.887s	24
11	Nico Hülkenberg	Renault	1:35.449s	+ 2.113s	22
12	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	1:35.521s	+ 2.185s	22
13	Sergio Pérez	Force India	1:35.626s	+ 2.290s	20
14	Romain Grosjean	Haas	1:35.680s	+ 2.344s	22
15	Daniil Kvyat	Toro Rosso	1:35.804s	+ 2.468s	23
16	Esteban Ocon	Force India	1:35.811s	+ 2.475s	24
17	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	1:35.912s	+ 2.576s	17
18	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	1:36.063s	+ 2.727s	25
19	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren	1:36.221s	+ 2.885s	21
20	Antonio Giovinazzi	Sauber	1:36.705s	+ 3.369s	24

GALLERY: All the pictures from Saturday in Shanghai

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Phillip van Osten

Motor racing was a backdrop from the outset in Phillip van Osten's life. Born in Southern California, Phillip grew up with the sights and sounds of fast cars thanks to his father, Dick van Osten, an editor and writer for Auto Speed and Sport and Motor Trend. Phillip's passion for racing grew even more when his family moved to Europe and he became acquainted with the extraordinary world of Grand Prix racing. He was an early contributor to the monthly French F1i Magazine, often providing a historic or business perspective on Formula 1's affairs. In 2012, he co-authored along with fellow journalist Pierre Van Vliet the English-language adaptation of a limited edition book devoted to the great Belgian driver Jacky Ickx. He also authored "The American Legacy in Formula 1", a book which recounts the trials and tribulations of American drivers in Grand Prix racing. Phillip is also a commentator for Belgian broadcaster Be.TV for the US Indycar series.