Italy – Free Practice 3: A Missed Opportunity
Third atypical free practice session at Monza, shortened by 45 minutes of running. Felipe Massa sets a fastest time that is probably anecdotal...
Autumn is early in Lombardy. Arriving this Saturday morning, it disrupted the end of the team’s program leading up to the afternoon’s qualifications. The air in Monza dropped by about ten degrees. 14 in the air, barely more on the track!
In the wake of the GP3 session being canceled, the track was declared unfit at 11:00, the theoretical start time for FP3 in Formula 1. Even though forecasts predict a notable improvement for the afternoon, Charlie Whiting even mentioned as a precaution that the qualifying session could be postponed to the next day, as was the case in Austin for the 2015 United States Grand Prix.
Whiting: “If rain carries on we would schedule #Quali for tomorrow AM but I really don’t think it will come to that” #ItalianGP 🇮🇹 #F1 pic.twitter.com/8PPAbkMx1X
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 2, 2017
The on-track activity was thus condensed into fifteen minutes. Very few lessons were drawn from it. Lewis Hamilton was notably very cautious, waiting until the last minutes to get on track, equipped with wet weather tires.
At Renault, an honorable mention to Nico Hülkenberg, who set the benchmark with a time of 1:41.491. The German hasn’t lost his agility in the rain, securing a pole position under similar conditions at Interlagos in 2010. A performance beaten two minutes before the end by the two Williams cars, with Massa ahead of Stroll, both very aggressive on the soaked kerbs. For honor, the Brazilian takes the best time of the session at 1:40.660. Both Ferraris were set to improve in their last attempt, but Vettel and Räikkönen aborted their laps.
FP3 🏁
P1 🇧🇷 @MassaFelipe19
P2 🇨🇦 Lance StrollQualifying next up at 14:00 😁#ItalianGP #F1 #WeAreRacing pic.twitter.com/YRNASIPwct
— WILLIAMS RACING (@WilliamsRacing) September 2, 2017
It will be necessary to return this afternoon to get a clearer view. Tension is rising a notch in Monza as the teams head into the lunch break with hardly any more certainty…
FASTEST SECTORS: #FP3 (wet) on the left, yesterday’s FP2 on the right #ItalianGP 🇮🇹 #F1 pic.twitter.com/Pe07zq8gki
— Formula 1 (@F1) 2 septembre 2017
Here is the final ranking of this rainy FP3:
INITIAL CLASSIFICATION (END OF #FP3): Confirmation of the seven drivers who set lap times #ItalianGP 🇮🇹 #F1 pic.twitter.com/kjzbhUSXiG
— Formula 1 (@F1) 2 septembre 2017
Join us now at 1:40 PM for a live of the qualifications!
From our special correspondent in Monza
