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Sauber duo tops rain-hit final free practice session

Sauber's Charles Leclerc and Marcus Ericsson topped a rain-hit FP3 session marked by very limited running around the Hockenheimring.

Only nine drivers put a lap time on the board, the majority sitting out the ultimate free practice run as extreme - and unsafe - conditions prevailed.

German Grand Prix - Free Practice 3

Pos	Driver	Team	Time	Gap	Laps
1	Charles Leclerc	Sauber	1:34.577s		8
2	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	1:35.000s	+ 0.423s	9
3	Sergey Sirotkin	Williams	1:35.334s	+ 0.757s	9
4	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	1:35.573s	+ 0.996s	5
5	Pierre Gasly	Toro Rosso	1:35.659s	+ 1.082s	6
6	Brendon Hartley	Toro Rosso	1:36.151s	+ 1.574s	6
7	Nico Hülkenberg	Renault	1:36.873s	+ 2.296s	4
8	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	1:37.755s	+ 3.178s	4
9	Lance Stroll	Williams	1:38.393s	+ 3.816s	7
10	Romain Grosjean	Haas			2
11	Kevin Magnussen	Haas			2
12	Max Verstappen	Red Bull			1
13	Fernando Alonso	McLaren			1
14	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren			2
15	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull			1
16	Carlos Sainz	Renault			2
17	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes			2
18	Esteban Ocon	Force India			2
19	Sergio Pérez	Force India			1
20	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes			2

As much as the Hockenheim was blistering hot and dry as a bone yesterday, the circuit awoke to heavy rain and cool temperatures on Saturday.

Drivers tentatively took to the track when the lights went green to sample conditions, but only exploratory laps were put on the board by most runners, the others remaining sheltered in their garage.

A rumor swirled around the paddock, relayed by Sky F1, that Lewis Hamilton was perhaps unfit to drive after feeling ill. The Brit therefore likely welcomed the spell of rain and the deliberately limited track time it entailed for his rivals.

Mercedes was quick to dispel the rumour however, insisting Ham was not ill. "And he will be driving in FP3 if we go out in these conditions," said a spokesman for the team.

Vasseur open to giving a Sauber seat to Raikkonen

Apart from a near collision at the end of the pitlane between Max Verstappen and Fernando Alonso, activity was subdued in the first half of the sodden session.

The highlight in the first 30 minutes of FP3 was a perfectly executed 180-degre spin by Renault's Carlos Sainz, fortunately with any consequence for the Spaniard, who was immediately called back to his garage after team boss Cyril Abiteboul deemed the conditions "unsafe".

Indeed, veteran journalist Maurice Hamilton tweeted during the session that "Conditions an exact reminder of this practice session in 1982 when Didier Pironi had his career ending accident after crashing into the back of Prost's Renault in the spray."

Better to be safe than sorry, therefore.

As a consequence, despite the sporadic engine fire-ups, common sense prevailed and everyone remained confined to their garage until the rain slightly let up with just ten minutes to go.

Eventually, nine cars ventured out, their bold drivers, including Hamilton, testing the waters quite literally.

The session concluded with a Sauber 1-2, with Leclerc topping for the first time in his young career an official free practice session.

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Michael Delaney