The final practice session in the 2018 Formula 1 German Grand Prix was a washout after rain played spoilsport with Sauber’s Charles Leclerc topping the timesheet.
The 1m36.873s laptime set by Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg at the start of the session stayed as the only time set for majority of FP3 until the final moments. The last 10 minutes saw a flurry of cars out on track to assess the conditions.
Handful of them decided to complete a flying lap with Leclerc clocking the best time of the session at 1m34.577s, right at the end of FP3 when the chequered flag fell. He led teammate Marcus Ericsson (1m35.000s) who also improved at the end.
Williams’ Sergey Sirotkin (1m35.334s) ended up third from Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel (1m35.573s) – the latter having a spin on his second lap. Toro Rosso’s Pierre Gasly and Brendon Hartley were fifth and sixth with Hulkenberg dropping to seventh.
The Frenchman did a 1m35.659s to the Kiwi’s 1m36.151s. Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen (1m37.755s) and Williams’ Lance Stroll (1m38.393s) were the only others to set a time in eighth and ninth positions – both Gasly and Stroll also had spins.
The rest of the pack did complete at least one recce lap with Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton only deciding to do it right at the edge of the session. Renault’s Carlos Sainz was another one with a heavy spin – but his came in the first part of the session.
After a clean sweep from Red Bull Racing drivers on Friday, the weather played a major role in the final session and it is expected to rain for qualifying session as well, which could make things interesting for a dry race on Sunday.
