Hamilton leads Verstappen by over 0.4s in FP3
Lewis Hamilton will start qualifying for the Malaysian Grand Prix as favourite for pole position after topping the times by over 0.4s in final practice.
Having been 0.2s clear of team-mate Nico Rosberg on Friday, Hamilton extended his advantage over the championship leader to 0.6s with an impressive qualifying simulation run in FP3. The gap to Rosberg was so big he found himself beaten to second place by Max Verstappen, while Rosberg was less than 0.1s clear of Kimi Raikkonen in fourth.
- AS IT HAPPENED: Malaysian Grand Prix – FP3
Raikkonen and team-mate Sebastian Vettel were separated by just 0.02s, with Vettel closing the gap on his second flying lap on soft tyres. Raikkonen failed to improve with an extra lap but Vettel’s time suggested there is sufficient life in the soft tyres to carry out two laps on each run in qualifying.
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Vettel did not enjoy a completely smooth session, however, with the four-time world champion spinning at the final corner as he took a wide line, wiping out the bollard which marks the pit entry.
Daniel Ricciardo was sixth fastest in the final session having completed his low fuel lap much earlier than his rivals. The top ten was completed by Nico Hulkenberg, Valtteri Bottas, Carlos Sainz and Felipe Massa, while Sergio Perez in 11th was just 0.037s off Sainz, suggesting a close fight for Q3 this afternoon.
Jenson Button will have a place in the top ten in his sights after ending final practice in 12th place, just 0.141s away from ninth, but team-mate Fernando Alonso took a different approach to FP3. Having received an additional 15-place grid penalty – taking him up to 45 in total – for new power unit components, Alonso, who had been in the top ten in both of Friday’s sessions, was slowest as he focused on race pace.
Vettel wasn’t the first driver to spin at the final corner during the session, with Esteban Gutierrez losing the rear of his Haas and ending up pointing the wrong way on the outside of the track. Rosberg was on a fast lap at the time and had to slow to avoid running wide towards the Mexican.
At the exact same time as Gutierrez’s spin, team-mate Romain Grosjean was causing more yellow flags by running wide at Turn 6. The Frenchman caught a slide but ended up taking a trip through the gravel before rejoining, and returned to the pits to have his team check the car after complaining of handling problems.
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01
Lewis Hamilton
Mercedes
1:34.434
16
02
Max Verstappen
Red Bull
1:34.879
14
03
Nico Rosberg
Mercedes
1:35.053
16
04
Kimi Raikkonen
Ferrari
1:35.150
15
05
Sebastian Vettel
Ferrari
1:35.170
14
06
Daniel Ricciardo
Red Bull
1:35.461
22
07
Nico Hulkenberg
Force India
1:35.776
16
08
Valtteri Bottas
Williams
1:35.902
17
09
Carlos Sainz
Toro Rosso
1:36.222
18
10
Felipe Massa
Williams
1:36.227
20
11
Sergio Perez
Force India
1:36.259
15
12
Jenson Button
McLaren
1:36.363
11
13
Esteban Gutierrez
Haas
1:36.553
14
14
Jolyon Palmer
Renault
1:36.604
20
15
Romain Grosjean
Haas
1:36.687
15
16
Kevin Magnussen
Renault
1:36.741
19
17
Daniil Kvyat
Toro Rosso
1:36.752
20
18
Marcus Ericsson
Sauber
1:36.765
19
19
Felipe Nasr
Sauber
1:37.106
18
20
Esteban Ocon
Manor
1:37.961
17
21
Pascal Wehrlein
Manor
1:38.089
13
22
Fernando Alonso
McLaren
1:41.199
15
