EL3: Rosberg remains ahead of Hamilton

Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) remained the fastest in the three practice sessions for the German Grand Prix at Hockenheim. The local driver set a time of 1’15”738 in the third session, a tenth off his best performance achieved on Saturday afternoon.

His teammate Lewis Hamilton ranked half a tenth. The new Championship leader is under investigation by the stewards for a dangerous start in the pits, the Briton having cut the road at Romain Grosjean (Haas). The Mercedes driver has already received two reprimands and is only one reminder away from a penalty.

Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull) is also on pace since he is a tenth behind the best time, ahead of the leaders by a few hundredths. Ferrari by Kimi Räikkönen and Sebastian Vettel by relegating his teammate Max Verstappen more than two tenths.

The Dutch precedes the Williams de Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa. Fernando Alonso (McLaren) and Nico Hulkenberg (Force India) complete the top ten, more than a second behind the benchmark. Carlos Sainz Jr. (Toro Rosso) follows in 11th place ahead of Sergio Pérez (Force India), Esteban Gutiérrez (Haas), Daniil Kvyat (Toro Rosso) and the Renault de Kevin Magnussen and Jolyon Palmer.

The Renault drivers are ahead of the Saubers of Marcus Ericsson and Felipe Nasr. Jenson Button (McLaren) is only 19th after suffering from understeer and oversteer. The 2009 world champion is ahead of the Manor of Pascal Wehrlein and Rio Haryanto. The Malaysian who could soon be replaced by Esteban Ocon received a three-place grid penalty for contact with Romain Grosjean in the pit lane.

The Haas driver completes the ranking after seeing his session end prematurely. The Frenchman spun in turn 4 and encountered gearbox problems requiring a change.

Qualifying for the German Grand Prix will be contested from 14 p.m. and will be followed live on Canal+ Sport and with our live text.

Results of free practice 3 of the German Grand Prix