Rosberg outpaces Hamilton, but Vettel's Ferrari less than two tenths behind; Max Verstappen quicker than Daniel Ricciardo for first time on debut Red Bull weekend
Saturday 14 May 2016 14:42, UK
Mercedes could face their closest qualifying battle of the season so far at the Spanish GP on Saturday after Ferrari closed the gap around Barcelona in final practice.
Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton kept Mercedes first and second on the timesheet, but Sebastian Vettel raised the prospect of a closer fight for the front row by lapping just 0.147 seconds adrift of the world champions' pace.
Ferrari president Sergio Marchionne had ramped up the scrutiny on his already under-pressure team before the weekend by saying he wants them to start winning in Spain and Vettel's P3 pace suggests F1's top two teams may be more equally matched this weekend.
For the second successive session, Rosberg set the pace - and may have gone quicker than his 1:23.078 had he not been forced to abort his second soft-tyre run when a sensor problem struck on his W07.
Despite completing his second run, Hamilton was unable to topple his team-mate again - despite setting quicker times in the first two sectors of the lap.
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In fact, Vettel ended the session with the fastest times in sectors one and two, with Rosberg's sector three pace - where the Mercedes was half a second quicker than the Ferrari - making the difference.
Revitalised Red Bull were half a second further adrift and, for the first time since his arrival at the senior team, Max Verstappen outpaced Daniel Ricciardo.
The Dutchman went a tenth quicker to take fourth, with Ricciardo losing time with a wide moment at Turn Nine. Kimi Raikkonen was only sixth in the second Ferrari, ahead of Williams' Valtteri Bottas.
After concentrating on a heavier-fuel programme on his first day back at Toro Rosso, Daniil Kvyat was their lead runner in P3 for the first time, finishing a promising ninth for the Red Bull junior team.
Meanwhile, Fernando Alonso suggested McLaren could have their best shot at a long-awaited Q3 breakthrough by finishing 10th, with the Spaniard not carrying the intricate front wing which the team tested on Friday. Jenson Button briefly ran the new part again in final practice, before it was taken off again. The Briton, who endured a difficult opening day, finished down in 15th.
Practice Three timesheet
1. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes, 1:23.078
2. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 1:23.204
3. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari, 1:23.225
4. Max Verstappen, Red Bull, 1:23.719
5. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull, 1:23.816
6. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, 1:23.110
7. Valtteri Bottas, Williams, 1:24.356
8. Sergio Perez, Force India, 1:24.472
9. Daniil Kvyat, Toro Rosso, 1:24.553
10. Fernando Alonso, McLaren, 1:24.555
11. Nico Hulkenberg, Force India, 1:24.585
12. Felipe Massa, Williams, 1:24.621
13. Carlos Sainz, Toro Rosso, 1:24.695
14. Romain Grosjean, Haas, 1:24.981
15. Jenson Button, McLaren, 1:25.051
16. Kevin Magnussen, Renault, 1:25.100
17. Esteban Gutierrez, Haas, 1:25.130
18. Jolyon Palmer, Renault, 1:25.376
19. Felipe Nasr, Sauber, 1:25.383
20. Marcus Ericsson, Sauber, 1:25.401
21. Pascal Wehrlein, Manor, 1:26.097
22. Rio Haryanto, Manor, 1:26.251
Watch the Spanish GP live on Sky Sports F1. The race starts at 1pm on Sunday, with build-up underway at 11.30am. Or watch the race without a contract for £6.99 on NOW TV.
