Lewis Hamilton pipped Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg to top the final practice session ahead of qualifying for the Russian Grand Prix, with a last-minute lap putting him just 0.068s clear.
The Briton’s 1m36.403s – the fastest lap seen this weekend so far and seven-tenths quicker than last year’s pole position time – was only just enough to see him beat Rosberg, with the Mercedes duo heading the table with a half second advantage to Ferrari.
Sebastian Vettel was third quickest ahead of team-mate Kimi Raikkonen, with seven-tenths splitting the red cars, whilst the two Williams cars were fifth and sixth, both within two-tenths of Raikkonen’s time.
The session saw much of the same from FP1 and FP2, with several drivers struggling for grip and running wide at Turns 2, 4 and 13 in particular. Force India’s Sergio Perez ran wide and brushed the wall, bringing out a brief yellow flag.
He wasn’t the only one though, as Max Verstappen, Felipe Nasr and Romain Grosjean all did something similar within a minute of one another. Prior to that, Rosberg span at T13 during a flying lap, a move almost copied by Hamilton a lap later.
Carlos Sainz, Rio Haryanto and Fernando Alonso added their names to the growing list of drivers running wide during the session.
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