British GP Practice Three: Lewis Hamilton just ahead of Ferrari
Hartley unhurt in high-speed smash; Hamilton edges Raikkonen, while Vettel misses qualy sim due to neck 'nuisance'; Qualifying underway at 2pm, live on Sky F1
Saturday 7 July 2018 15:50, UK
Mercedes and Ferrari are poised for an epic battle in qualifying for the British GP after Lewis Hamilton set the pace in final practice by less than a tenth of a second.
Hamilton lapped in a time of 1:26.772 to out-pace Kimi Raikkonen by 0.093 in Practice Three at Silverstone.
Sebastian Vettel, quickest in Practice Two on Friday night, did not set a qualifying simulation run after Ferrari reported a neck 'nuisance'.
But the strength of the Ferrari package was laid bare by all six Ferrari-powered cars lapping in the top 10 alongside the Mercedes of Hamilton and the third-placed Valtteri Bottas as well as the Red Bulls of Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo, fifth and sixth.
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But the session was marred by a huge crash for Toro Rosso's Brendon Hartley.
Thankfully unhurt in the incident, Hartley was speared into the gravel trap after the front suspension of his car failed at an estimated 200mph. Almost flipping over as it rattled through the gravel, the car became embedded into the trackside barriers before the New Zealander calmly informed his team he had avoided injury.
Pierre Gasly, Hartley's Toro Rosso team-mate, failed to reappear after a 13-minute red-flag stoppage as the team examined the cause of the crash.
But once the session resumed, Mercedes and Ferrari traded fastest times in rapid succession.
First Raikkonen, then Hamilton, Raikkonen again, then Bottas, Raikkonen once again, and, finally, Hamilton appeared at the top of the charts before the chequered flag fell.
In a stand-out result for a team marooned at the back of the grid last season, the rapidly-improving Sauber team were seventh and 10th, Charles Leclerc and Marcus Ericsson sandwiched by the Haas cars of Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean.
All four cars are powered by Ferrari, underlining the strength of the Scuderia's 2018 engines - with engine power emerging as a critical factor this weekend at a sun-kissed Silverstone.
Red Bull have all but written off their hopes of challenging for pole position in qualifying but the fight between Mercedes and Ferrari looks too close to call.
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