Canadian GP: Hamilton all set for qualifying as he goes fastest in P3

June 12 '10

Lewis Hamilton was the fastest driver in his McLaren in the final practice session for the Canadian Grand Prix with his best time of 1m16.058s which was 0.3 of a second faster than the Red Bull of Mark Webber in second position.

As if the track wasn't slippery enough, overnight showers made track conditions even worse at the beginning of the session. Halfway through the session the track became almost dry and Hamilton set his fastest time of the weekend on the super-soft tyres that nobody could match.

According to iTV, "In the middle part of the session Button had briefly traded fastest times with his McLaren team-mate Hamilton, before the younger Briton took command with a 1m16.259s lap at the 40-minute mark.

"Even though it was set on the harder prime tyre, that time remained unbeaten when the field switched to the super-soft options in the closing stages ? except by Hamilton himself, who moved the benchmark to 1m16.058s."

Sebastian Vettel was fifth quickest in the second Red Bull and was on target to improve when Lucas di Grassi spun his Virgin at the Casino hairpin with just a minute left on the clocks and brought out the yellow flags.

Apart from Grassi, there were few others who also had a close shave. Felipe Massa brushed the wall at the exit of turn seven and sparks flew from the front side of his Ferrari with no major damage. Hamilton also brushed the barriers coming out of turn four after setting the quickest time of the session.

Nico Rosberg managed just 4 laps during the dying stages of the practice session as his Mercedes was being tended by the pit crew with a clutch problem. Hispania's Karun Chandhok missed the entire session as his car stopped at the pit exit due to gearbox problem.

Canadian Grand Prix free practice 3 times

1. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m 16.058s
2. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m 16.340s
3. Fernando Alonso Ferrari-Ferrari 1m 16.495s
4. Michael Schumacher Mercedes-Mercedes 1m 16.536s
5. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m 16.582s
6. Robert Kubica Renault-Renault 1m 16.653s
7. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1m 16.673s
8. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m 16.699s
9. Vitantonio Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes 1m 16.814s
10. Vitaly Petrov Renault-Renault 1m 16.982s
11. Nico Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth 1m 17.121s
12. Felipe Massa Ferrari-Ferrari 1m 17.231s
13. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m 17.331s
14. Kamui Kobayashi BMW Sauber-Ferrari 1m 17.548s
15. Pedro de la Rosa BMW Sauber-Ferrari 1m 17.609s
16. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m 17.633s
17 Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1m 17.789s
18. Nico Rosberg Mercedes-Mercedes 1m 17.979s
19. Jarno Trulli Lotus-Cosworth 1m 19.013s
20. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Cosworth 1m 19.447s
21. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1m 19.536s
22. Lucas di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth 1m 19.844s
23. Bruno Senna HRT-Cosworth 1m 20.325s
24. Karun Chandhok HRT-Cosworth No time



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Peter Arundell Alberto Ascari Peter Ashdown Ian Ashley Gerry Ashmore