Austria – Free practice 3: Ferrari ahead, Nico Rosberg in the wall

For this final free practice session, the weather is ideal, with an air temperature of 24°C and a track temperature of 42°C. This should allow the teams to make up for the delay caused yesterday by the downpour that disrupted the second session.

However, the drivers aren’t rushing to go out and set a first time. While the Saubers were initially the only ones to set a time, the Ferraris kick off the hostilities immediately as both drivers go under the 1:08 mark on their first attempt. Following this, Sebastian Vettel further improves and records a time of 1:07.307, the best of the weekend, while both Mercedes complete laps at a moderate pace, around 1:10, to the point that the blue flag is shown to Lewis Hamilton to let Pascal Wehrlein pass. The Briton complains over the radio that something isn’t right at the back of his car, which is confirmed by slow-motion footage: his rear tires are extremely worn.

After a quarter of an hour, the top 10 is Vettel, Räikkönen, Verstappen, Massa, Hülkenberg, Ricciardo, Kvyat, Wehrlein, Sainz, Perez while both McLarens, Valtteri Bottas, and Romain Grosjean have still not recorded any timed laps.

After his complicated day yesterday, Esteban Gutierrez’s troubles continue as he announces on the radio that something is going to end up breaking in his car. He returns to the pits so that his mechanics can work on his single-seater again.

Unlike their usual performance, the Mercedes drivers are not dominating the front positions: Lewis Hamilton is only 16th while Nico Rosberg has the 20th fastest time of the session. Kimi Räikkönen confirms Ferrari’s good form by taking the lead, with a time 73 thousandths faster than his teammate, pushing Daniel Ricciardo beyond half a second.

At mid-session, the hierarchy has evolved as both Williams have positioned themselves behind the leading trio. Max Verstappen, Nico Hülkenberg, Esteban Gutierrez, Romain Grosjean, and Fernando Alonso complete the top 10. The Mercedes remain at the back of the pack.

When Nico Rosberg finally returns to the track, his left rear suspension breaks as he goes over the curb at the exit of turn 2. His car immediately spins and crashes into the wall. This obviously causes a red flag. Mercedes mechanics will have a lot of work to do to repair the damage before qualifying.

The session was therefore interrupted for about ten minutes, leaving only eleven minutes for the final laps before qualifying. Lewis Hamilton then set his best time of the session, moving up to 4th position, thanks to new ultra-soft tires, before progressing an additional position.

Sebastian Vettel also made sure to retake the lead, setting a new track record with a time of 1:07.098. Valtteri Bottas executed a nice piece of style in the final corner but without incident. Notably, Pascal Wehrlein secured an impressive 13th place, ahead of both Toro Rosso, Haas, and Renault.

The big question before qualifying is whether Nico Rosberg’s car will be ready in time for qualifying and if he will need to change his gearbox following his impact.

From our special correspondent in Spielberg