Lewis Hamilton continued Nico Rosberg’s rapid pace on the third day of the final test, posting a 1:23.022 in the colder conditions to rise to the top.
The Mercedes driver was only two-tenths quicker than the Williams of Felipe Massa though, whilst Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen was just 0.014s behind the Brazilian – though both their times were set on the super-soft, whereas Hamilton used the slightly slower soft.
Carlos Sainz Jr caused one of the two red flags, but finished fourth fastest overall. The second came from Sauber’s Marcus Ericsson who went sixth quickest. Romain Grosjean slotted himself between the two.
Nico Hulkenberg completed 158 laps in the Force India. An astonishing amount considering the VJM08 only made its on-track debut yesterday.
It’s a tally McLaren can only dream of. Whilst Jenson Button managed 101 on Friday, Kevin Magnussen could only complete 39 thanks to an oil leak in the afternoon. He was eighth quickest.
Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo brought up the rear as the team focussed on some longer runs. He eventually completed 128 laps.
| # | Driver | Team | Time | Gap | Laps |
| 01. | L. Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:23.022 | 76 | |
| 02. | F. Massa | Williams | 1:23.262 | 0.240 | 102 |
| 03. | K. Raikkonen | Ferrari | 1:23.276 | 0.254 | 136 |
| 04. | C. Sainz Jr | Toro Rosso | 1:24.191 | 1.169 | 132 |
| 05. | R. Grosjean | Lotus | 1:24.200 | 1.178 | 116 |
| 06. | M. Ericsson | Sauber | 1:24.477 | 1.455 | 123 |
| 07. | N. Hulkenberg | Force India | 1:24.930 | 1.917 | 158 |
| 08. | K. Magnussen | McLaren | 1:25.225 | 2.203 | 39 |
| 09. | D. Ricciardo | Red Bull | 1:25.742 | 2.720 | 128 |
