Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel edged Formula 1 title rival Lewis Hamilton for top spot during the final practice session at the Austrian Grand Prix.
Vettel used Pirelli’s Ultrasoft tyres to clock a time of 1:04.070, the fastest of the weekend so far, in warm and overcast conditions at the Red Bull Ring.
Vettel’s time was just 0.029s faster than that achieved by Hamilton, who led the way during both sessions in similar conditions on Friday.
Valtteri Bottas was third for Mercedes, 0.134s behind Vettel, while the German’s Ferrari team-mate Kimi Raikkonen finished in fourth, precisely four-tenths down on the leader.
Red Bull had a more challenging session on home turf as Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo placed fourth and fifth, over seven-tenths off the pace, before the Dutchman stopped on track.
Verstappen informed Red Bull of an engine glitch as he approached Turn 4 and he came to a halt a few metres further around the circuit.
Haas once again led the midfield charge, with Romain Grosjean keeping a slender buffer over Kevin Magnussen, while Renault’s Carlos Sainz Jr. took ninth.
Charles Leclerc kept up his impressive form by rounding out the top 10, though he came to a halt on the straight between Turns 1 and 3 in the dying moments amid a suspected engine problem.
Nico Hulkenberg was next up for Renault, in front of Toro Rosso’s Pierre Gasly and the Force India pair of Esteban Ocon and Sergio Perez, who sandwiched McLaren’s Fernando Alonso.
Marcus Ericsson finished half a second behind his Sauber team-mate in 16th spot, with Brendon Hartley 17th and Stoffel Vandoorne 18th.
Williams finished at the rear of the pack, with Lance Stroll quicker than Sergey Sirotkin in the scrap to avoid the wooden spoon.
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