Free 3: Sebastian Vettel fastest in final practice

Sebastian Vettel has ended the final practice session ahead of Sunday’s Canadian Grand Prix fastest for Red Bull, only +0.006 seconds ahead of the Ferrari of Fernando Alonso. McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton finished 3rd fastest overall, as the Brit searches for his first victory of the 2012 season.

The session started in glorious sunshine, unlike yesterday, as Heikki Kovalainen became the first driver to leave the pits. The Finn was quickly followed by others, as the field gradually completed their installation laps. Nico Rosberg suffered a large blow to his qualifying preparations early on, as the German driver pulled off the track on the exit of turn 7. This prematurely ended his session, as the marshals pushed his Mercedes off the track.

After the Mercedes had been cleared, drivers began to take to the track once again with Kamui Kobayashi setting the first timed lap of the day with a 01:17.376. Both Kimi Raikkonen and Jenson Button went fastest momentarily, before the Japanese driver returned to the top with a 01:16.104. After a day plagued by mechanical issues on Friday, Button was eager to make up for lost time throughout third practice.

Jean-Eric Vergne made a mistake through the first two corners, as the Frenchman lost control of his Toro Rosso and embedded it in the wall at turn 2. Although only minor damage was caused to the car, this ended Vergne’s session with the Frenchman unable to set a timed lap beforehand.

As the session wore on the times began to tumble as drivers began preparing for qualifying later in the afternoon. Button returned to the top once again with a 01:15.833 before the Red Bull of Sebastian Vettel flew to the top with a 01:15.440, a time which the German improved on shortly afterwards with a 01:15.022. Fernando Alonso was the first driver to set a time in the 01:14s, with the Italian outfit looking very competitive and potential contenders for pole. Lewis Hamilton went fastest for McLaren with a 01:14.712, with the McLaren driver eager to continue his momentum from Friday’s two practice sessions.

The Lotus of Romain Grosjean became one of the first drivers to opt for the super-soft Pirelli compound, however the Frenchman was unable to set a fastest time on his opening lap. Whilst several drivers follow Grosjean’s decision to change to the super-softs, Vettel remained on the soft tyre compound and went fastest with a 01:14.712.

Eventually the front runners switched to the softer compound, as the Ferrari of Alonso went top quite comfortably with a 01:14.448 whereas his team-mate Felipe Massa made a slight mistake through turn 8 and cut across the grass. The Spaniard’s time at the top was only short-lived, however, as Sebastian Vettel quickly returned to the top with 01:14.442.

As the session came to close, various mistakes were made. Narain Karthikeyan bounced over the grass at turn 4, as the Indian driver ran too wide on the exit of turn 3. Kimi Raikkonen made an extremely late entry to the pits, with the race stewards deciding to investigate the incident.

With all three practice sessions now complete, the teams and drivers will now be preparing themselves for the all-important qualifying session that takes place this afternoon.

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