Free 3: Mark Webber the fastest

While the rain hampered the last test session, the rain did not appear in Melbourne for this third meeting of the weekend. Formula 1. It was therefore on a completely dry track that the 24 actors were able to offer a show worthy of the event. Unlike the first two sessions, the drivers quickly showed up on the track and set times.

Vitaly Petrov (Renault) is the first to panic the counter by regularly lowering the reference mark (1?32??342, 1?2??597? 1?27??532), before Felipe Massa (Ferrari) joins him and takes the lead (1?27??190). Meanwhile, the Mercedes do not come out and, among the new teams, Timo Glock (Virgin Racing) is the fastest (1:31:665, P12).

Mercedes comes out of its reserve and sends Nic Rosberg to the front. Often fast during free practice, the German took first place in 1:26:463. He doesn't stay in his head for long, Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) overtaking it shortly after (1?26??242). The viace world champion, discreet until now, finally shows himself at the forefront.

More Lewis Hamilton (McLaren), the fastest driver on Friday, in turn places himself in first place (1??25), while Michael Schumacher (Mercedes) also stands out (1:26:083, P2). Mark Webber (Red Bul), very fast on Friday, gets closer to the lead (1:25:774) while Bruno Senna (HRT) suffers a loss of hydraulic pressure and has to abandon his car at the side of the track .

Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) takes pole again in 1:25:559 but the time continues to go down and Michael Schumacher finally manages to take first place (1:25:494). But, in Melbourne, we have to reckon with Mark Webber, very comfortable in front of his fans (1:25:309). Adrian Sutil (Force India), after several attempts, managed to climb into the top 8 (1:26:112, P8).

Lewis Hamilton (McLaren), after his good times the day before, tries to get back into the lead, coming within two tenths of Webber's time. The latter, returning to the track, drove home the point by improving his time by more than five tenths (1:24:794). The barriers fell and Fernando Alonso rushed into the breach (1:24:929, P2), before Mark Webber improved one last time (1:24:719). Michael Schumacher made one last attempt (1:24:963, P3) before Karun Chandhok (HRT) stopped at the side of the track and caused the yellow flag to appear.

The last free practice session therefore ends with domination by Mark Webber, who has continued to get closer to the top places since the start of the weekend on a track that is improving. The qualifying session (7 a.m.-8 a.m.) should offer some great fights for the first places.