Max in sixth place after final practice in Singapore
Published on 15 September 2018 by Raymond Snip
Max Verstappen finished the third and final free practice in sixth place. At the 5.063 kilometer long Marina Bay Street Circuit the Dutchman realized a fastest time of 1:39.265. Max’ session was not without any issues, he reported of engine problems on his radio several times. Ferrari was the quickest with Sebastian Vettel on P1 and Kimi Raikkonen on P2.
The third free practice is the final session starting in daylight. When the light at the end of pitlane turns green, almost all drivers start FP3 with a installation lap. Kimi Raikkonen is the first one, for Ferrari, setting a time. The Fin, next driving for Sauber opens the session with a 1:40.012. His teammate, Sebastian Vettel, shortly after beats that time by 4 thousands of a second.
After 15 minutes it gets crowded on track and fast times are being set on the clock. Both Ferrari’s stay on top of the list since most drivers are making long-runs.
Aston Martin Red Bull Racing take a long time. After 25 minutes Daniel Ricciardo is the first one of the Milton Keynes team leaving the pit lane entering the track of Marina Bay. Max Verstappen still standing next to his car.
By the second half of the session, the first time in qualifying trim appears on the time table. Sebastian Vettel laps the track in Singapore in 1:38.054 (US). Shortly later Max Verstappen appears on track. The Dutchman sets his first time of 1:40.826 (S).
With 15 minutes left on the clock, the top five consists of Vettel (1:38.054), Raikkonen (+0.362), Hamilton (+0.684), Bottas (+0.725) and Verstappen (+2.772. However the Ferrari and Mercedes drivers set their times on hypersoft tyres, compared to Verstappen on the yellow walled tyres. Max’ session is not without issues, he reports of engine noise several times.
In the final phase of FP3, a lot of lap times are being improved. It is very hard to create a quick lap with the many cars on track. Max Verstappen drives a few quick laps on the hypersofts and sets a final 1:39.265, finishing in sixth place.However the gap to the top, 1 second, is significant.
Results third free practice Singapore:
| pos | driver | team | time | laps | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sebastian Vettel | VET | Ferrari | 1:38.054 | |
| 2 | Kimi Räikkönen | RAI | Ferrari | 1:38.416 | +0.362s |
| 3 | Lewis Hamilton | HAM | Mercedes | 1:38.558 | +0.504s |
| 4 | Valteri Bottas | BOT | Mercedes | 1:38.603 | +0.549s |
| 5 | Daniel Ricciardo | RIC | Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer | 1:39.186 | +1.132s |
| 6 | Max Verstappen | VER | Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer | 1:39.265 | +1.211s |
| 7 | Romain Grosjean | GRO | Haas Ferrari | 1:39.747 | +1.693s |
| 8 | Esteban Ocon | OCO | Force India Mercedes | 1:40.073 | +2.019s |
| 9 | Sergio Perez | PER | Force India Mercedes | 1:40.231 | +2.177s |
| 10 | Fernando Alonso | ALO | McLaren Renault | 1:40.254 | +2.200s |
| 11 | Nico Hulkenberg | HUL | Renault | 1:40.450 | +2.396s |
| 12 | Kevin Magnussen | MAG | Haas Ferrari | 1:40.559 | +2.505s |
| 13 | Carlos Sainz | SAI | Renault | 1:40.591 | +2.537s |
| 14 | Pierre Gasly | GAS | Scuderia Toro Rosso Honda | 1:40.686 | +2.632s |
| 15 | Stoffel Vandoorne | VAN | McLaren Renault | 1:40.798 | +2.744s |
| 16 | Charles Leclerc | LEC | Sauber Ferrari | 1:40.915 | +2.861s |
| 17 | Brendon Hartley | HAR | Scuderia Toro Rosso Honda | 1:41.562 | +3.508s |
| 18 | Sergey Sirotkin | SIR | Williams Mercedes | 1:41.884 | +3.830s |
| 19 | Marcus Ericsson | ERI | Sauber Ferrari | 1:41.953 | +3.899s |
| 20 | Lance Stroll | STR | Williams Mercedes | 1:42.220 | +4.166s |
