2015 Australian Grand Prix Saturday - Qualifying
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Rosberg goes up to fourth on a 1m30.376s, a second off Vettel on the faster tyre. Hamilton made a mistake and is still on a 1m39s.
Hulkenberg goes off at Turn 1, wasting that first set of soft tyres.
Plenty of cars are in trouble at Turn 1, and McLaren decides to warn Button about the fact that the wind is causing problems out there. Turns 1 and 15 seem to be the trouble-makers.
Plenty of cars are in trouble at Turn 1, and McLaren decides to warn Button about the fact that the wind is causing problems out there. Turns 1 and 15 seem to be the trouble-makers.
Everyone now out bar Daniil Kvyat and the unlikely-to-be-seen Manors.
The Williams of Bottas and Massa slot into third and fourth (on mediums) behind the Ferraris.
Stopwatch
Vettel goes a full eight tenths faster than Raikkonen, he takes first place with a 1m29.307s.
Ricciardo reports his Turn 15 moment to Red Bull on the radio, and he seems pretty mystified by a lack of front grip compared to FP3.
The Mercedes started off with slow warm-up laps in 1m40s and 1m41s.
Vettel is set to beat Raikkonen's time...
Stopwatch
Raikkonen and his softs take first place by a mile, his 1m30.188s is 2.4s up on Nasr.
Hamilton is complaining of vibrations on this set of tyres, although it's unlikely to cause him enough trouble to make a Q1 exit a realistic worry.
Twitter
"A few mistakes out there already - the breeze has really picked up here in pit lane. This could spice things up a bit," notes Mercedes.
Perez joins team-mate Hulkenberg on softs, so Force India and Ferrari are running the same tyre strategy for the start of Q1.
Ericsson and Grosjean have gone fifth and sixth.
Ricciardo's first time is only a 1m33.2s in fourth place.
Replays show Maldonado had a big slide in Turn 1, and Ricciardo has kicked up the dirt running wide at the penultimate corner.
Hamilton has an even bigger moment than Maldonado in Turn 1.
Hamilton has an even bigger moment than Maldonado in Turn 1.
Stopwatch
Now Nasr puts Sauber on top with a 1m32.540s lap, three tenths up on Verstappen.
Stopwatch
Verstappen takes the top stop away from Sainz by two tenths with a 1m32.851s.
Both Ferraris are on softs - and Hulkenberg's Force India is too.
Maldonado is second fastest, 4.5s off Sainz - that's not a full-on lap from the Lotus, or he made a mistake.
Stopwatch
Sainz kicks us off with a 1m33.094s.
BEN ANDERSON: "Cooler conditions could bring Toro Rosso more into play in qualifying. Its car seems to be less effective when temperatures are high."
Raikkonen is the only driver on soft tyres at the moment - everyone else has taken mediums.
Both Mercedes leave the pits too, along with Kimi Raikkonen's Ferrari.
More wind updates on the radio - Bottas is told that the direction has changed slightly in the last 15 minutes.
That could be a relief to the drivers - there was a tailwind into Turn 9 this morning that was causing them all kinds of problems into the 9/10 chicane.
That could be a relief to the drivers - there was a tailwind into Turn 9 this morning that was causing them all kinds of problems into the 9/10 chicane.
The Lotus pair, Toro Rossos, Saubers and Daniel Ricciardo are first on the track.
Twitter
As the pre-session team Twitter banter hotted up, Toro Rosso offered us "a rookie's focused qualifying face" and Mercedes went for Hamilton's "footwear check".
Sainz is told that temperatures and wind speed are both down from the end of FP3.
Green flag
The clock starts ticking and Q1 begins.
Twitter
According to Manor's Twitter feed, despite a "Herculean push" time is "running out."
Running out indeed, qualifying starts in just over five minutes.
Running out indeed, qualifying starts in just over five minutes.
The fact that Vettel was second in final practice caught the eye, although that was mainly down to Nico Rosberg not making the most of the switch to soft tyres in the closing stages.
Prior to those final few minutes, Rosberg had had the edge over Hamilton all weekend, but now is the time that it counts. And it will be interesting to see how close Vettel & Co can get to the Mercedes battle.
Prior to those final few minutes, Rosberg had had the edge over Hamilton all weekend, but now is the time that it counts. And it will be interesting to see how close Vettel & Co can get to the Mercedes battle.
An interesting stat and an excuse - not that AUTOSPORT Live needs it - for some fever.
Mika Hakkinen and Michael Schumacher hold the record for most pole positions in the Australian Grand Prix with three each, but we could see that record broken today.
Both Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel - first and second in FP3 - also have three...
Mika Hakkinen and Michael Schumacher hold the record for most pole positions in the Australian Grand Prix with three each, but we could see that record broken today.
Both Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel - first and second in FP3 - also have three...
Breaking news
While we wait for the action to begin, let's have a recap of news from the paddock this morning.
First up, the big story to start the day was the (temporary) resolution in the Giedo van der Garde/Sauber situation:
Van der Garde gives up right to race in Australia
There's been developments on the Formula 1 engine front, too, as the FIA has revealed how many development 'tokens' each manufacturer has used so far:
Renault saving engine tokens for mid-season
First up, the big story to start the day was the (temporary) resolution in the Giedo van der Garde/Sauber situation:
Van der Garde gives up right to race in Australia
There's been developments on the Formula 1 engine front, too, as the FIA has revealed how many development 'tokens' each manufacturer has used so far:
Renault saving engine tokens for mid-season
The countdown to the first qualifying session of the 2015 Formula 1 season is well and truly on - Q1 starts on the hour in Australia.
So as the teams turn to preparing for qualifying, AUTOSPORT Live is going to take a quick break.
We will commence at 5:45am GMT to bring you blow-by-blow action of the first Formula 1 qualifying session of the year.
We will commence at 5:45am GMT to bring you blow-by-blow action of the first Formula 1 qualifying session of the year.
Breaking news
Here's the full report from that free practice session, as Lewis Hamilton leads the way heading into qualifying, and Sebastian Vettel's Ferrari splits the Mercedes duo:
Hamilton tops final practice in Australia
Hamilton tops final practice in Australia
Lewis Hamilton, Australian GP 2015
Felipe Nasr managed the most laps in the session with 24, two more than Magnussen's tally last year.
No virtual safety car test today, as had been the case in FP1 and 2 yesterday.
Final order in FP3:
1 Hamilton
2 Vettel
3 Rosberg
4 Bottas
5 Massa
6 Raikkonen
7 Grosjean
8 Maldonado
9 Sainz
10 Nasr
11 Verstappen
12 Ericsson
13 Hulkenberg
14 Perez
15 Ricciardo
16 Magnussen
17 Button
18 Kvyat
1 Hamilton
2 Vettel
3 Rosberg
4 Bottas
5 Massa
6 Raikkonen
7 Grosjean
8 Maldonado
9 Sainz
10 Nasr
11 Verstappen
12 Ericsson
13 Hulkenberg
14 Perez
15 Ricciardo
16 Magnussen
17 Button
18 Kvyat
Lewis Hamilton, Australian GP 2015
Checkered flag
With most of the leaders in the pits already, the chequered flag is out.
Sainz pops up into the top 10, he goes eighth in the Toro Rosso.
By: Glenn Freeman, Jack Benyon, AUTOSPORT staff, Ben Anderson, Edd Straw, Lawrence Barretto
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