German GP Practice Three: Charles Leclerc tops washed-out session
Thursday 6 December 2018 15:21, UK
Practice Three at the German GP was a near-complete washout as the heavens opened on qualifying day in Hockenheim.
Charles Leclerc topped the timesheets with a 1:34.577, leading a rare Sauber one-two, while neither Mercedes driver completed a flying lap at all.
The heavy showers and wet track sets up an intriguing and unpredictable qualifying.
After light rain early in the morning, a torrential downpour started 15 minutes before Practice Three and Carlos Sainz's spin at the beginning of the session appeared to put a halt on track action.
Nico Hulkenberg was the only man with a timed lap before many drivers emerged from the pits towards the end of the hour, with Sebastian Vettel completing a single flying effort and finishing fourth behind Leclerc, Marcus Ericsson and Sergey Sirotkin.
Lewis Hamilton, who was in his Mercedes motorhome for much of the session, only came out for an exploration lap, as did team-mate Valtteri Bottas and both Red Bulls.
Though Renault boss Cyril Abiteboul described the wet conditions as "dangerous" for qualifying, the heavy rain is due to stop and Saturday's shootout could offer a mixed-up grid for the race.
