Free 3: Fernando Alonso fastest in final practice

Championship leader Fernando Alonso has ended the final practice session fastest, ahead of tomorrow’s German Grand Prix. After rain intervened throughout yesterday’s running, the majority of the field were understandably eager to get some dry running in. Lewis Hamilton ended the session 2nd fastest, with Sergio Perez 3rd for Sauber.

The session started under dry conditions, as a stream of cars headed by Kamui Kobayashi immediately took to the track. With rain forecast for the latter part of the session, the teams and drivers were desperate to get some dry running in prior to qualifying. Jean-Eric Vergne set the initial pace with a 01:24.191, before Kimi Raikkonen set a 01:20.927. As ever during the final practice session, the teams and drivers began gearing up towards qualifying later in the day, and the times quickly began to tumble as a result.

Charles Pic was the only driver stuck in the pit lane as the session got underway, with his Marussia mechanics carrying out a lengthy engine change due to an air leak discovered prior to the session. Nico Rosberg then took control of the session, setting consistently quick lap times in his Mercedes. The local hero eventually got his time down to a 01:17.491, and will be looking for a competitive qualifying session even though he’ll drop five grid positions due to a gearbox penalty.

As the session wore on, Bruno Senna, Mark Webber, Sebastian Vettel and Pastor Maldonado all shared the top spot, with the reigning World Champion finally setting a 01:16.652 as the German star aims for his first ever home victory in front of his adoring German fans. However, the Red Bull’s reign at the top was short lived, as Championship leader Fernando Alonso stormed to the top of timing sheets with a 01:16.124.

With threatening black clouds bubbling up in the distance, rain was a certainty as the session drew to a close. With this being the case, many drivers elected to take to the track in the closing stages to maximize their chances of dry running. Lewis Hamilton went fastest with a 01:16.091, as Charles Pic finally took to the track with only 15 minutes remaining after a stellar performance by his Marussia mechanics.

Fernando Alonso reasserted his authority over proceedings once again with only several minutes of the session remaining, setting a blisteringly quick 01:16.014 for Ferrari. Whilst one Ferrari was dominating at the top of the timing sheets, the other was seen bouncing through the gravel and grass at turn 12 as Felipe Massa pushed to the limits.

With the rain finally striking the Hockenheimring in the closing seconds of the session, the teams and drivers will be hoping that the weather dries out in time for qualifying later this afternoon. With Fernando Alonso looking to strengthen his lead atop the Drivers’ Championship, pole position would be the ideal result this afternoon.

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