Sebastian Vettel Remains On The Pace In Final Practice At Germany

Sebastian Vettel has remained on the pace at the sharp-end of the order after the third and final practice session in preparation for the German Grand Prix, eventually obliterating the opposition to finish ahead of fellow countryman Nico Rosberg and team-mate Mark Webber.

The third and final practice session ahead of the German Grand Prix began in clear weather conditions at the legendary Nurburgring, with many drivers immediately taking to the iconic circuit in a bid to finalize their preparations for the remainder of the weekend. Former team-mates Paul di Resta and Nico Hulkenberg led the field out of the pits as the session got underway, with many drivers electing to complete installation laps. Sergio Perez eventually became the first driver to set a timed lap, with the Mexican sensation producing a 01:34.382.

After working his way down to a 01:33.684, many other drivers began returning to the Nurburgring to set their own timed laps. This saw Jenson Button momentarily dispose of his team-mate with a 01:32.704, before the Mercedes of Nico Rosberg continued impressing at the top with a 01:31.911. As team-mate Lewis Hamilton made a minor mistake at Turn 2 on his quick lap, the local star proceeded to improve at the top with a 01:31.618.

The 28-year-old continued to improve, before fellow countryman and reigning World Champion Sebastian Vettel asserted his authority over proceedings with a 01:31.294 as team-mate Mark Webber slotted into 2nd position. Meanwhile Pastor Maldonado skipped through the gravel at Turn 7, as the Venezuelan ace continued to struggle behind the wheel of his Renault-powered Williams machine.

After running the majority of the session on Pirelli’s medium tyres, Fernando Alonso became the first driver to switch to the Italian supplier’s softer tyre compound. The Spaniard was quickly followed by team-mate Felipe Massa, as many others began following the Ferrari duo’s trend in the final minutes of the third practice session. The two-time World Champion understandably improved at the top with a 01:30.621, with the assistance of the softer rubber. Felipe Massa slotted into 2nd position, with the Brazilian also managing to improve on the soft tyre compound.

However, the Scuderia’s reign over proceedings was quickly brought to a conclusion, as local driver Nico Rosberg returned Mercedes to the top with a 01:30.193. Lewis Hamilton failed to trouble the top of the timing sheets on the soft tyre, with the Briton still struggling in comparison to team-mate Nico Rosberg. Mark Webber looked on course to dispose of the 28-year-old, after producing the fastest first two sectors. However, a loss of time in the final sector saw the Australian driver only manage 2nd, as team-mate Sebastian Vettel finally took to the circuit on the soft tyre compound.

The local hero simply obliterated the opposition with his first run of the softer compound, producing the fastest time of the entire weekend so far with a 01:29.517. Sebastian Vettel continued to improve through the first sector on his next lap, however the German failed to improve overall as the checkered flag emerged signaling the end of the session. The reigning World Champion ended the session ahead of fellow countryman Nico Rosberg, with team-mate Mark Webber a distant 3rd.

With all three practice sessions now over, the teams and drivers will be frantically crunching the numbers in preparation for qualifying later in the day. Sebastian Vettel looks incredibly strong in his Red Bull, however Nico Rosberg can never be discounted from contention in the ever-improving Mercedes.

Pos Driver               Team                  Time       Gap      Laps
 1. Sebastian Vettel     Red Bull-Renault      1m29.517s           19
 2. Nico Rosberg         Mercedes              1m30.193s  +0.676s  19
 3. Mark Webber          Red Bull-Renault      1m30.211s  +0.694s  18
 4. Fernando Alonso      Ferrari               1m30.621s  +1.104s  16
 5. Felipe Massa         Ferrari               1m30.639s  +1.122s  17
 6. Kimi Raikkonen       Lotus-Renault         1m30.671s  +1.154s  19
 7. Lewis Hamilton       Mercedes              1m30.744s  +1.227s  20
 8. Romain Grosjean      Lotus-Renault         1m30.781s  +1.264s  18
 9. Nico Hulkenberg      Sauber-Ferrari        1m30.966s  +1.449s  20
10. Adrian Sutil         Force India-Mercedes  1m31.009s  +1.492s  18
11. Jenson Button        McLaren-Mercedes      1m31.326s  +1.809s  22
12. Esteban Gutierrez    Sauber-Ferrari        1m31.405s  +1.888s  20
13. Paul di Resta        Force India-Mercedes  1m31.733s  +2.216s  21
14. Jean-Eric Vergne     Toro Rosso-Ferrari    1m31.855s  +2.338s  18
15. Sergio Perez         McLaren-Mercedes      1m31.855s  +2.338s  23
16. Daniel Ricciardo     Toro Rosso-Ferrari    1m31.898s  +2.381s  19
17. Pastor Maldonado     Williams-Renault      1m31.969s  +2.452s  20
18. Valtteri Bottas      Williams-Renault      1m32.036s  +2.519s  23
19. Charles Pic          Caterham-Renault      1m33.230s  +3.713s  19
20. Jules Bianchi        Marussia-Cosworth     1m33.470s  +3.953s  22
21. Giedo van der Garde  Caterham-Renault      1m33.964s  +4.447s  21
22. Max Chilton          Marussia-Cosworth     1m34.683s  +5.166s  20

Picture Copyright © Getty Images