Sebastian Vettel re-claimed his usual spot at the top of the timesheets suggesting he might still be the man to beat in Valencia for the European GP.
The Red Bull driver’s best lap, a 1:37.258, was over two-tenths quicker than last years pole position time around the portside street circuit.
The two Ferrari’s and teammate Mark Webber were the only cars within a second of the lead time, whilst the McLaren and Mercedes cars were next, though well off the pace, possibly suggesting heavier fuel loads.
The session was fairly uneventful until the very end as Vettel looked to be going quicker, before he had to back-off in the final corner thanks to Kamui Kobayashi. The Japanese driver span his Sauber C30 into the wall resulting in yellow flags as the checkered flag fell.
European GP Free Practice 3 Results:
| Pos | Driver | Team | Time | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01. | S. Vettel | Red Bull | 1:37.258 | 15 | |
| 02. | F. Alonso | Ferrari | 1:37.678 | +0.420 | 16 |
| 03. | F. Massa | Ferrari | 1:37.840 | +0.582 | 17 |
| 04. | M. Webber | Red Bull | 1:38.068 | +0.810 | 13 |
| 05. | J. Button | McLaren | 1:38.326 | +1.068 | 13 |
| 06. | N. Rosberg | Mercedes | 1:38.580 | +1.322 | 15 |
| 07. | L. Hamilton | McLaren | 1:38.741 | +1.483 | 13 |
| 08. | M. Schumacher | Mercedes | 1:38.799 | +1.541 | 14 |
| 09. | V. Petrov | Renault | 1:38.822 | +1.564 | 17 |
| 10. | N. Heidfeld | Renault | 1:39.113 | +1.855 | 15 |
| 11. | A. Sutil | Force India | 1:39.411 | +2.153 | 19 |
| 12. | S. Perez | Sauber | 1:39.778 | +2.520 | 18 |
| 13. | P. di Resta | Force India | 1:39.823 | +2.565 | 18 |
| 14. | K. Kobayashi | Sauber | 1:39.848 | +2.590 | 18 |
| 15. | S. Buemi | Toro Rosso | 1:39.888 | +2.630 | 17 |
| 16. | R. Barrichello | Williams | 1:39.987 | +2.729 | 18 |
| 17. | P. Maldonado | Williams | 1:40.004 | +2.746 | 16 |
| 18. | J. Alguersuari | Toro Rosso | 1:40.239 | +2.981 | 20 |
| 19. | H. Kovalainen | Team Lotus | 1:41.267 | +4.009 | 15 |
| 20. | J. Trulli | Team Lotus | 1:41.690 | +4.432 | 18 |
| 21. | T. Glock | Virgin | 1:42.557 | +5.299 | 18 |
| 22. | V. Liuzzi | Hispania | 1:43.243 | +5.985 | 17 |
| 23. | J. d’Ambrosio | Virgin | 1:43.309 | +6.051 | 18 |
| 24. | N. Karthikeyan | Hispania | 1:44.630 | +7.372 | 19 |
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