Max sixth in final Sepang practice: "Difficult session"

Published on 30 September 2017 by Stefan Meens

Max Verstappen finished sixth in the final free practice session of the Malaysian Grand Prix. Ferrari led the way with Kimi Raikkonen quickest ahead of his team mate Sebastian Vettel. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull Racing, completed the top three.

“It was a difficult session”, said Max on his birthday to Verstappen.nl. “We lacked a good balance throughout the whole session. We have to do a lot of work to get it right, so it’s not very positive.”

At the start of the session, we see happy faces in the Haas F1 pit box. The team could repair Romain Grosjean’s car in time for FP3 after his heavy crash in the second Friday practice session.

Although dark clouds gather, rain remains only a thread, not a reality and throughout the session the drivers were able to run slicks.

At the halfway mark, most teams have done longer runs and are preparing for qualifying simulations. Ultimately, like yesterday, it is the Ferraris that have the pace with Raikkonen and Vettel topping the charts.

In the closing stages of the session, Max has a spin in the final corner after being hit by Jolyon Palmer. The Renault driver tried to overtake the Dutchman on the inside resulting in a puncture for Max and broken front wing for Palmer.

The FIA is investigating the incident with Palmer claiming Max drove ‘way to slow’.

Malaysian Grand Prix - Sepang International Circuit - Saturday 30 September

FREE PRACTCIE 3 RESULTS

01  7 Kimi Raikkonen      Ferrari                     1:31.880          19
02  5 Sebastian Vettel    Ferrari                     1:32.042 +0.162s  14
03  3 Daniel Ricciardo    Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer   1:32.091 +0.211s  16
04 77 Valtteri Bottas     Mercedes                    1:32.329 +0.449s  24
05 44 Lewis Hamilton      Mercedes                    1:32.539 +0.659s  20
06 33 Max Verstappen      Red Bull Racing TAG Heuer   1:32.579 +0.699s  17
07 11 Sergio Perez        Force India Mercedes        1:33.209 +1.329s  20
08 19 Felipe Massa        Williams Mercedes           1:33.240 +1.360s  20
09 31 Esteban Ocon        Force India Mercedes        1:33.290 +1.410s  21
10  2 Stoffel Vandoorne   McLaren Honda               1:33.321 +1.441s  16
11 14 Fernando Alonso     McLaren Honda               1:33.530 +1.650s  17
12 18 Lance Stroll        Williams Mercedes           1:33.538 +1.658s  21
13 20 Kevin Magnussen     Haas Ferrari                1:33.787 +1.907s  10
14 27 Nico Hulkenberg     Renault                     1:33.871 +1.991s  14
15 55 Carlos Sainz        Toro Rosso                  1:33.924 +2.044s  22
16 10 Pierre Gasly        Toro Rosso                  1:34.206 +2.326s  24
17 30 Jolyon Palmer       Renault                     1:34.475 +2.595s  12
18  8 Romain Grosjean     Haas Ferrari                1:34.914 +3.034s  19
19  9 Marcus Ericsson     Sauber Ferrari              1:34.936 +3.056s  19
20 94 Pascal Wehrlein     Sauber Ferrari              1:35.045 +3.165s  19 

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