Vettel pips Alonso in final practice

The third and final practice session for the British Grand Prix got underway under cloudy skies but the teams were finally able to get some dry running.

The action was largely overshadowed by the latest twist in the blown exhaust controversy. The FIA indeed announced, less than an hour before the start of the session, that the Renault powered teams would be limited to 10% exhaust blowing – compared to the 50% granted on Friday on the basis of reliability issues – while the Mercedes powered teams would remain allowed to fuel half of their engine’s cylinders on overrun.

RBR Team Principal Christian Horner rushed to race control to seek clarification.

On the sporting side, the track was busy as the teams tried to gather as much data as possible on the dry. They were clearly not helped by a light shower towards the middle of the session. With 34 minutes left, all 24 cars were back in the pits waiting for the rain to stop.

At this point, Mark Webber was leading from Kobayashi and Schumacher. Massa and Button completed the top five while Hamilton and Vettel were yet to post a time.

The rain soon stopped and some cars quickly joined the track. The action duly resumed a few minutes later. There was a flurry of improvements and Nico Rosberg stormed at the front with a fastest lap in the low 1’33s.

Mark Webber and Michael Schumacher both missed most of the second half of the season through an engine exhaust problem for the Australian and a gearbox issue for the German.

Alonso put his Ferrari on top with 17 minutes left. A run on the soft tyre saw Kobayashi move up to 2nd. More drivers used the soft tyre at the end of the session and the hierarchy further evolved.

Vettel edged out Alonso for top spot. He remained on top under the chequered flag, concluding the session 0.063s ahead of the Ferrari driver. Webber was third. Massa and Maldonado completed the top five.

The McLaren drivers were 6th (Button) and 13th (Hamilton) fastest.