Japanese GP F1 FP3: Nico Rosberg fastest again at Suzuka
Nico Rosberg set the pace in final Formula 1 practice for the Japanese Grand Prix while his Mercedes team-mate and title rival Lewis Hamilton failed to complete a qualifying simulation
Rosberg's time of 1m32.092s was three tenths quicker than Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo and ensured the championship leader completed a clean sweep of practice sessions this weekend at Suzuka.
A damp start meant drivers completed their installation laps on the intermediate or wet tyres but it wasn't long before they made the switch to slicks.
But the time lost early in the session meant drivers left it until the final minutes of the session to do their qualifying simulations which in turn created traffic that forced many to abandon laps.
Rosberg edged Hamilton on the medium tyre runs by just 0.054s and then improved by 1.2s when he fitted the softs and got a clean lap.
Hamilton was not so fortunate, losing time running wide at Degner 2 and then backing off and returning to the pits as there was not enough time to get a second run in.
Sebastian Vettel was third quickest, 0.639s off the pace, a fraction ahead of Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Kimi Raikkonen went quicker than Rosberg in the first sector, but was baulked by Renault's Kevin Magunssen on the approach to Degner 1, ruining his lap. He ended the session fifth.
Felipe Massa completed a late lap on the softs to vault into sixth, ahead of Hamilton, whose time was set on the medium tyres.
Renault showed good promise with Jolyon Palmer and Kevin Magnussen achieving exactly the same lap time to finish eighth and ninth respectively, 1.5s adrift.
Force India's Nico Hulkenberg completed the top 10.
It was a troubled session for Haas with Romain Grosjean and Esteban Gutierrez having off-track excursions, with the latter spinning at the Esses.
Jenson Button also struggled, finishing 19th quickest, while Carlos Sainz Jr was bottom of the timesheet having completed just three laps.
FP3 TIMES
Pos | Driver | Car | Time | Gap | Laps |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 1m32.092s | - | 14 |
2 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull/Renault | 1m32.394s | 0.302s | 10 |
3 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 1m32.731s | 0.639s | 13 |
4 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull/Renault | 1m32.784s | 0.692s | 9 |
5 | Kimi Raikkonen | Ferrari | 1m33.011s | 0.919s | 12 |
6 | Felipe Massa | Williams/Mercedes | 1m33.271s | 1.179s | 13 |
7 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1m33.284s | 1.192s | 12 |
8 | Jolyon Palmer | Renault | 1m33.639s | 1.547s | 13 |
9 | Kevin Magnussen | Renault | 1m33.639s | 1.547s | 10 |
10 | Nico Hulkenberg | Force India/Mercedes | 1m33.646s | 1.554s | 11 |
11 | Fernando Alonso | McLaren/Honda | 1m33.714s | 1.622s | 12 |
12 | Esteban Gutierrez | Haas/Ferrari | 1m33.787s | 1.695s | 16 |
13 | Valtteri Bottas | Williams/Mercedes | 1m33.865s | 1.773s | 9 |
14 | Sergio Perez | Force India/Mercedes | 1m33.921s | 1.829s | 11 |
15 | Daniil Kvyat | Toro Rosso/Ferrari | 1m34.037s | 1.945s | 12 |
16 | Romain Grosjean | Haas/Ferrari | 1m34.272s | 2.180s | 13 |
17 | Felipe Nasr | Sauber/Ferrari | 1m34.388s | 2.296s | 12 |
18 | Marcus Ericsson | Sauber/Ferrari | 1m34.544s | 2.452s | 13 |
19 | Jenson Button | McLaren/Honda | 1m34.548s | 2.456s | 11 |
20 | Esteban Ocon | Manor/Mercedes | 1m35.230s | 3.138s | 13 |
21 | Pascal Wehrlein | Manor/Mercedes | 1m37.256s | 5.164s | 10 |
22 | Carlos Sainz Jr. | Toro Rosso/Ferrari | 1m56.323s | 24.231s | 3 |
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