Nico Rosberg was quickest during final practice for the Russian Grand Prix after the session was cut short by 20 minutes following a heavy crash for Toro Rosso’s Carlos Sainz.
The Spaniard was airlifted to hospital following the incident and is said to be “conscious, breathing fine and talking.”
The shorter session meant most drivers were unable to set representative times as they instead chose to focus on longer runs during the opening 40 minutes.
Rosberg led Williams’ Valtteri Bottas by more than seven tenths, with team-mate Lewis Hamilton in third.
2015 Russian Grand Prix Practice Times (FP3):
| # | Driver | Team | Time | Gap | Laps |
| 01 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 1:38.561 | 1:38.561 | 15 |
| 02 | Valtteri Bottas | Williams | 1:39.287 | 0.726 | 17 |
| 03 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:39.363 | 0.802 | 13 |
| 04 | Sergio Perez | Force India | 1:39.616 | 1.055 | 14 |
| 05 | Felipe Massa | Williams | 1:39.875 | 1.314 | 14 |
| 06 | Nico Hulkenberg | Force India | 1:39.917 | 1.356 | 14 |
| 07 | Jenson Button | McLaren | 1:40.581 | 2.020 | 12 |
| 08 | Pastor Maldonado | Lotus | 1:40.767 | 2.206 | 13 |
| 09 | Fernando Alonso | McLaren | 1:41.200 | 2.639 | 11 |
| 10 | Felipe Nasr | Sauber | 1:41.229 | 2.668 | 14 |
| 11 | Daniil Kvyat | Red Bull | 1:41.358 | 2.797 | 15 |
| 12 | Kimi Raikkonen | Ferrari | 1:42.297 | 3.736 | 11 |
| 13 | Romain Grosjean | Lotus | 1:42.371 | 3.810 | 14 |
| 14 | Marcus Ericsson | Sauber | 1:42.450 | 3.889 | 14 |
| 15 | Carlos Sainz Jr. | Toro Rosso | 1:42.683 | 4.122 | 19 |
| 16 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 1:42.686 | 4.125 | 11 |
| 17 | Max Verstappen | Toro Rosso | 1:43.089 | 4.528 | 16 |
| 18 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull | 1:43.347 | 4.786 | 14 |
| 19 | Roberto Merhi | Manor | 1:46.767 | 8.206 | 19 |
| 20 | Will Stevens | Manor | 1:47.249 | 8.688 | 18 |
