Fernando Alonso Fastest In Final Practice At Spa
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Championship leader, Fernando Alonso, has ended the final practice session at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit fastest for Ferrari, as the teams and drivers now look ahead to this afternoon’s all-important qualifying hour. The Ferrari driver was followed by Kimi Raikkonen, with Sergio Perez a close 3rd for Sauber.
Unlike yesterday’s torrid weather conditions, this morning’s final practice session as run in glorious sunshine. With the teams and drivers unable to complete much running during yesterday’s two practice sessions, it was expected to be an immensely frenetic final hour of practice as the drivers prepared for the remainder of the Belgian Grand Prix weekend.
Kamui Kobayashi led a long queue of awaiting drivers out onto the track once the session got underway, with some drivers even opting to continue for a flying lap straight away instead of just completing the usual one single installation lap. Jean-Eric Vergne set the initial pace for Toro Rosso, however Bruno Senna was quick to jump to the top shortly after with a 01:57.562. It wasn’t long before the front runners quickly rose to the top, with Mark Webber setting a 01:56.957 to go fastest. The Australian driver will drop five places on the grid after qualifying, after requiring a gearbox change on his Red Bull.
Bruno Senna then returned to the top of the timing sheets, with the Williams driver keen to make up for lost time after only completing three laps in the treacherous conditions yesterday. Nico Rosberg’s preparations for qualifying were dealt a big blow as the session progressed, as the Mercedes driver was seen peeling off the track with what looked like a mechanical issue on his car. Whilst Rosberg’s car was pushed to safety by the marshals, Bruno Senna continued to set fast laps, with a 01:51.741 atop the timing sheets.
Fernando Alonso brought an end to the Brazilian’s reign, as the Championship leader set a 01:50.936 to go fastest. With many drivers striving to find the ideal setup ahead of qualifying, drivers including Kimi Raikkonen and Jenson Button were heard complaining of their setup, with Raikkonen requesting his Lotus mechanics change the car.
As the session entered it’s closing stages, the times quickly began to tumble as the likes of Sergio Perez, Romain Grosjean and Mark Webber all momentarily shared the top spot. However, it was the dominant Ferrari of Fernando Alonso who ended the session fastest overall, with a 01:48.542 enough to keep the Spaniard at the top throughout the closing minutes. Kimi Raikkonen was only a tenth off the Ferrari driver, with the Finn predicted by many for victory for this weekend’s 44-lap race.
With all three practice sessions now over, the teams and drivers will be desperately crunching the numbers ahead of this afternoon’s qualifying session. With the likes of Marussia running extensive updates, it looks set to be a highly competitive qualifying session throughout the entire 24-car field.
Pos Driver Car Time Gap Laps 1. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m48.542s 18 2. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault 1m48.683s + 0.141s 21 3. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m48.850s + 0.308s 23 4. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m48.863s + 0.321s 20 5. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m49.091s + 0.549s 18 6. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m49.092s + 0.550s 16 7. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m49.164s + 0.622s 21 8. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1m49.266s + 0.724s 23 9. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m49.292s + 0.750s 23 10. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m49.382s + 0.840s 22 11. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault 1m49.561s + 1.019s 23 12. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m49.615s + 1.073s 19 13. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m49.621s + 1.079s 26 14. Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 1m49.674s + 1.132s 23 15. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m49.710s + 1.168s 21 16. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m49.776s + 1.234s 22 17. Bruno Senna Williams-Renault 1m50.027s + 1.485s 20 18. Heikki Kovalainen Caterham-Renault 1m52.339s + 3.797s 21 19. Charles Pic Marussia-Cosworth 1m52.566s + 4.024s 20 20. Timo Glock Marussia-Cosworth 1m52.630s + 4.088s 18 21. Vitaly Petrov Caterham-Renault 1m52.809s + 4.267s 22 22. Pedro de la Rosa HRT-Cosworth 1m53.383s + 4.841s 22 23. Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 1m53.562s + 5.020s 23 24. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m58.113s + 9.571s 5
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Tags: Belgian Grand Prix, belgium, conditions, dry, F1, fernando alonso, ferrari, Formula 1, FP3, grand prix, Kimi Raikkonen, lotus, Practice, Qualifying, sauber, sergio perez, setup, spa-francorchamps, Sunny, weather, wet