Vettel gains the upper hand in FP3 - Hamilton in trouble

© XPB 

Sebastian Vettel headed the timesheets in the ultimate free practice session before this afternoon's Austrian Grand Prix qualifying.

Lewis Hamilton topped most of the 60-minute running  before a late charge on Ultrasoft tyres by his title rival who clocked a 1:05.092 lap which was 0.269s clear of the Mercedes.

Hamilton was tempted to better Vettel's time but suffered a brake issue upon the entry of Turn 3 on his flying lap. The Brit managed to bring his Silver Arrows back to the pits at slow speed and the team is currently investigating the issue which appaers to be linked to a disc failure.

Team mate Valtteri Bottas was third, with Kimi Raikkonen right behind. Max Verstappen led the Red Bull charge in P5, with Daniel Ricciardo snapping at his heels.

Haas' Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean were strong contenders in the morning session while Dany Kvyat and Carlos Sainz rounded out the top ten for Toro Rosso.

Free Practice 3 results

PosDriverTeamTimeGapLaps
1Sebastian VettelFerrari1:05.092s18
2Lewis HamiltonMercedes1:05.361s+ 0.269s21
3Valtteri BottasMercedes1:05.515s+ 0.423s19
4Kimi RäikkönenFerrari1:05.611s+ 0.519s19
5Max VerstappenRed Bull1:05.784s+ 0.692s24
6Daniel RicciardoRed Bull1:05.896s+ 0.804s29
7Kevin MagnussenHaas1:05.936s+ 0.844s21
8Romain GrosjeanHaas1:06.015s+ 0.923s22
9Daniil KvyatToro Rosso1:06.279s+ 1.187s28
10Carlos SainzToro Rosso1:06.284s+ 1.192s19
11Esteban OconForce India1:06.374s+ 1.282s26
12Nico HülkenbergRenault1:06.563s+ 1.471s18
13Stoffel VandoorneMcLaren1:06.578s+ 1.486s18
14Jolyon PalmerRenault1:06.595s+ 1.503s22
15Fernando AlonsoMcLaren1:06.599s+ 1.507s20
16Lance StrollWilliams1:06.776s+ 1.684s22
17Felipe MassaWilliams1:06.865s+ 1.773s24
18Sergio PérezForce India1:06.875s+ 1.783s28
19Marcus EricssonSauber1:07.378s+ 2.286s21
20Pascal WehrleinSauber1:07.468s+ 2.376s25

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