Malaysia – FP3: Rosberg ahead of Hamilton, Ferrari lurking
For this third and final free practice session of the Malaysian Grand Prix, it was Nico Rosberg who clocked the fastest time. The German driver is ahead of his teammate Lewis Hamilton and the Finn Kimi Räikkönen.
Summary:
As since the beginning of the weekend, the sun is shining for this third and final free practice session of the Malaysian Grand Prix. As soon as the session opens, Will Stevens takes to the track for an installation lap before being joined by the rest of the field.
The young Briton completed the first timed lap of the session with a modest 1:49.397 before being beaten by Felipe Nasr in 1:43.760, who was then dethroned by Daniil Kvyat in 1:41.980.
While he had set the best provisional first sector, Kimi Räikkönen was called back by his team. The Ferrari garage suspects a puncture on the Finn’s car. At the end of the first fifteen minutes, Kvyat leads ahead of Ricciardo and the two Toro Rosso cars of Carlos Sainz and Max Verstappen. Following are the two Lotus cars of Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado. Marcus Ericsson is seventh ahead of Nico Hülkenberg. The Mercedes, Williams, McLaren drivers, as well as Sebastian Vettel and Roberto Merhi, have yet to set a flying lap.
We have to wait until mid-session to see the Mercedes on track. On his first flying lap, Nico Rosberg takes the lead with a time of 1:40.392, 0.198 ahead of Daniel Ricciardo’s Red Bull. Felipe Massa records the third provisional time ahead of his teammate Valtteri Bottas, while Fernando Alonso climbs to ninth place.
The drivers return to the pit lane 20 minutes before the end of the session after completing an initial stint on hard tires. At the end of the session, they will go back on track with medium tires to perform a simulation in preparation for the qualifying, which will start at 10 AM (French time).
Nico Rosberg is the first to set a time of 1:39.690. Lewis Hamilton comes within 0.184 of his teammate and leads Kimi Räikkönen, Sebastian Vettel, Felipe Massa, and Valtteri Bottas. Daniel Ricciardo is seventh, ahead of Carlos Sainz, Max Verstappen, and Marcus Ericsson.
The standings no longer change in the final moments of the session and Nico Rosberg maintains his best time ahead of his teammate. The battle promises to be intense during the qualifications, which can be followed live on Motorinside around 10 a.m.
| N° | Driver | Team | Times | Gap | Laps |
1 | Rosberg | Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team | 1:39.690 | 13 | |
2 | Hamilton | Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team | 1:39.874 | +0.184 | 10 |
3 | Räikkönen | Scuderia Ferrari | 1:40.245 | +0.555 | 9 |
4 | Vettel | Scuderia Ferrari | 1:40.266 | +0.576 | 13 |
5 | Massa | Williams Martini Racing | 1:40.391 | +0.701 | 14 |
6 | Bottas | Williams Martini Racing | 1:40.406 | +0.716 | 15 |
7 | Ricciardo | Infiniti Red Bull Racing | 1:40.590 | +0.900 | 19 |
8 | Sainz Jr. | Scuderia Toro Rosso | 1:40.601 | +0.911 | 19 |
9 | Verstappen | Scuderia Toro Rosso | 1:40.989 | +1.299 | 18 |
10 | Ericsson | Sauber F1 Team | 1:41.200 | +1.510 | 19 |
11 | Grosjean | Lotus F1 Team | 1:41.206 | +1.516 | 16 |
12 | Maldonado | Lotus F1 Team | 1:41.592 | +1.902 | 18 |
13 | Kvyat | Infiniti Red Bull Racing | 1:41.776 | +2.086 | 14 |
14 | Hülkenberg | Sahara Force India F1 Team | 1:41.804 | +2.114 | 15 |
15 | Alonso | McLaren Honda | 1:41.991 | +2.301 | 13 |
16 | Perez | Sahara Force India F1 Team | 1:42.100 | +2.410 | 14 |
17 | Nasr | Sauber F1 Team | 1:42.117 | +2.427 | 18 |
18 | Button | McLaren Honda | 1:42.319 | +2.629 | 13 |
19 | Merhi | Manor Marussia F1 | 1:46.647 | +6.957 | 9 |
20 | Stevens | Manor Marussia F1 | 1:47.059 | +7.369 | 6 |
