Raikkonen tops final free practice

40

Kimi Raikkonen topped the timesheet Saturday morning in the final session of free practice before this afternoon's crucial qualifying for the Spanish Grand Prix.

The Finn set a 1:20.214 which was a few tenths faster than Ferrari team mate Sebastian Vettel who ended up second despite encountering an issue shortly before the end of the session when the SF70H stopped at the end of the pitlane.

Most drivers spent the bulk of the session doing longer runs on the medium compound tyre before bolting on the softer tyre in the latter part of the session.

Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton slotted in third while Valtteri Bottas remained stranded in the garage as Mercedes scrambled to change the Finn's engine following the detection of a water leak.

He ultimately headed out with only a few minutes left on the clock for a short run on soft tyres which was good enough for fourth on the timesheet, just a few tenths down on Hamilton.

While perhaps not completely reinvigorated by his performance, Fernando Alonso received a bit of consolation after his failure yesterday by putting his McLaren-Honda in P10 after a rare but welcomed trouble-free session.

Free practice 3 results

Pos	Driver	Team	Time	Gap	Laps
1	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	1:20.214s		20
2	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	1:20.456s	+ 0.242s	7
3	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:20.595s	+ 0.381s	12
4	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	1:20.868s	+ 0.654s	7
5	Max Verstappen	Red Bull	1:21.025s	+ 0.811s	14
6	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull	1:21.249s	+ 1.035s	15
7	Nico Hülkenberg	Renault	1:21.670s	+ 1.456s	13
8	Felipe Massa	Williams	1:21.746s	+ 1.532s	19
9	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso	1:21.835s	+ 1.621s	19
10	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	1:22.093s	+ 1.879s	16
11	Romain Grosjean	Haas	1:22.128s	+ 1.914s	21
12	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	1:22.214s	+ 2.000s	12
13	Sergio Pérez	Force India	1:22.237s	+ 2.023s	19
14	Esteban Ocon	Force India	1:22.297s	+ 2.083s	22
15	Daniil Kvyat	Toro Rosso	1:22.391s	+ 2.177s	15
16	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	1:22.513s	+ 2.299s	20
17	Lance Stroll	Williams	1:22.574s	+ 2.360s	19
18	Jolyon Palmer	Renault	1:22.755s	+ 2.541s	13
19	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren	1:22.853s	+ 2.639s	15
20	Pascal Wehrlein	Sauber	1:22.974s	+ 2.760s	19

Win the ULTIMATE TRACKDAY with F1i.com!

GALLERY: All the action from Barcelona on Friday

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter

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.