Vettel ahead as Mercedes struggle for pace in FP3
F1 Grand Prix, GP Singapore, Marina Bay Street Circuit
Sebastian Vettel easily edged out the rest of the field in the final practice session ahead of qualifying for the Singapore GP. He was nearly half a second ahead of team mate Kimi Raikkonen.
Interestingly, Red Bull Racing's Kvyat and Ricciardo were third and fourth fastest as everybody ventured out on track on the super soft tyres in the final 15 minutes of the session.
Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton was a considerably 1.1s off the pace, much to his own surprise. Nico Rosberg was another 4 tenths slower in 6th, and crucially only 0.014s ahead of the usually uncompetitive McLaren Honda, steered by Fernando Alonso.
Results
| Pos. | .No. | .Driver | Team | Time | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 1:45.682 | - | 12 |
| 2 | 7 | Kimi Räikkönen | Ferrari | 1:46.132 | +0.450s | 12 |
| 3 | 26 | Daniil Kvyat | Red Bull Racing | 1:46.167 | +0.485s | 19 |
| 4 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull Racing | 1:46.359 | +0.677s | 14 |
| 5 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:46.802 | +1.120s | 15 |
| 6 | 6 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 1:47.223 | +1.541s | 16 |
| 7 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | McLaren | 1:47.237 | +1.555s | 14 |
| 8 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | Toro Rosso | 1:47.301 | +1.619s | 18 |
| 9 | 33 | Max Verstappen | Toro Rosso | 1:47.464 | +1.782s | 17 |
| 10 | 9 | Marcus Ericsson | Sauber | 1:47.568 | +1.886s | 20 |
| 11 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Williams | 1:47.587 | +1.905s | 20 |
| 12 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Force India | 1:47.640 | +1.958s | 16 |
| 13 | 22 | Jenson Button | McLaren | 1:47.715 | +2.033s | 14 |
| 14 | 19 | Felipe Massa | Williams | 1:47.733 | +2.051s | 21 |
| 15 | 13 | Pastor Maldonado | Lotus | 1:47.817 | +2.135s | 16 |
| 16 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Force India | 1:48.002 | +2.320s | 15 |
| 17 | 8 | Romain Grosjean | Lotus | 1:48.116 | +2.434s | 15 |
| 18 | 12 | Felipe Nasr | Sauber | 1:48.932 | +3.250s | 20 |
| 19 | 53 | Alexander Rossi | Marussia | 1:52.588 | +6.906s | 26 |
| 20 | 28 | Will Stevens | Marussia | 1:55.293 | +9.611s | 22 |
