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Raikkonen fastest in final Belgian GP practice
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 [August 27, 2016]
By Abhishek Takle
SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium (Reuters) -
Kimi Raikkonen set the pace for Ferrari in the final practice
session for Sunday’s Belgian Formula One Grand Prix.
The Finn, four-time winner at Spa-Francorchamps, lapped the track in
one minute 47.974 seconds on a hot and sweltering morning.
Australian Daniel Ricciardo carried over Red Bull’s strong form from
Friday’s practice sessions to take second, 0.215 seconds behind.
Four-times world champion Sebastian Vettel was third, with Ferrari,
which struggled in the uncharacteristically hot temperatures on
Friday, looking more competitive ahead of qualifying.
Reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton, who took on a third fresh
power unit ahead of the hour-long session, was fifth.
The Briton is set to start Sunday’s race dead last after being hit
with a cumulative 55-place grid penalty and, like Friday, spent most
of the session on refining his Mercedes’ long-run pace.
Like team-mate Nico Rosberg, who was seventh, Hamilton went out for
a final blast on the fastest super-soft tires in the dying minutes
of the session.
Dutchman Max Verstappen, for whom this race is the closest he has to
a home event, was only able to drive two laps in front of his
legions of orange-clad supporters without setting a time.
The 18-year-old, who ended Friday’s opening day of practice on top
of the timesheets, was sidelined with problems with his Red Bull’s
gearbox, with the team investigating the issues.
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Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen of Finland during the final practice
session. REUTERS/Yves Herman
Hamilton heads into the weekend gunning to become only the third
driver ever to take 50 career wins.
The triple champion has won six of the last seven races, four of
those in succession, and leads Rosberg by 19 points in the
standings.
(Editing by Amlan Chakraborty)
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