Jenson Button topped the times on Saturday morning during third practice for the European Grand Prix in Valencia.
The McLaren driver surprised many with a late lap to go a tenth faster than Romain Grosjean who was a further tenth ahead of his team-mate Kimi Raikkonen. The hotter temperatures, which hit 40ºC, clearly benefiting the Lotus car which looks to be in strong form for qualifying.
Nico Hulkenberg yet again affirmed Force India’s strong pace with the fourth quickest lap, a 1:38.819 – just over two tenths off Button. Meanwhile Hulkenberg’s team-mate Paul di Resta completed the top five.
Red Bull looked to have struggled with both cars undergoing major changes in the garage for much of the session. Sebastian Vettel could only manage the 13th quickest lap, whilst Mark Webber languished in 19th after completing just four laps.
Ferrari also struggled for pace with Fernando Alonso finishing down in 12th, whilst Felipe Massa managed ninth.
The session was a drama free one for most drivers.
2012 European GP FP3 Results:
| # | Driver | Team | Time | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01. | J. Button | McLaren | 1:38.562 | 17 | |
| 02. | R. Grosjean | Lotus | 1:38.655 | +0.093 | 18 |
| 03. | K. Raikkonen | Lotus | 1:38.759 | +0.197 | 18 |
| 04. | N. Hulkenberg | Force India | 1:38.819 | +0.257 | 17 |
| 05. | P. di Resta | Force India | 1:38.882 | +0.330 | 17 |
| 06. | S. Perez | Sauber | 1:39.084 | +0.522 | 20 |
| 07. | M. Schumacher | Mercedes | 1:39.141 | +0.579 | 15 |
| 08. | L. Hamilton | McLaren | 1:39.178 | +0.616 | 17 |
| 09. | F. Massa | Ferrari | 1:39.318 | +0.756 | 15 |
| 10. | P. Maldonado | Williams | 1:39.357 | +0.795 | 18 |
| 11. | K. Kobayashi | Sauber | 1:39.358 | +0.796 | 19 |
| 12. | F. Alonso | Ferrari | 1:39.395 | +0.833 | 15 |
| 13. | S. Vettel | Red Bull | 1:39.434 | +0.872 | 13 |
| 14. | B. Senna | Williams | 1:39.543 | +0.981 | 13 |
| 15. | N. Rosberg | Mercedes | 1:39.946 | +1.384 | 20 |
| 16. | J. Vergne | Toro Rosso | 1:40.037 | +1.475 | 17 |
| 17. | D. Ricciardo | Toro Rosso | 1:40.134 | +1.572 | 20 |
| 18. | H. Kovalainen | Caterham | 1:40.681 | +2.119 | 15 |
| 19. | M. Webber | Red Bull | 1:41.282 | +2.720 | 4 |
| 20. | V. Petrov | Caterham | 1:41.931 | +3.369 | 15 |
| 21. | P. de la Rosa | HRT | 1:42.758 | +4.196 | 14 |
| 22. | C. Pic | Marussia | 1:42.815 | +4.253 | 16 |
| 23. | N. Karthikeyan | HRT | 1:42.943 | +4.381 | 14 |
| 24. | T. Glock | Marussia | 1:43.124 | +4.562 | 18 |
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