Nico Rosberg has led a Mercedes one-two in the final practice session for the Malaysian Grand Prix.
Rosberg was just under two-tenths faster than his team-mate, who was complaining that his brakes were “all over the place” after he found himself constantly locking up early on in the session.
The two Ferraris of Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel were next quickest with almost identical times. Just 0.02 seconds separated the pair, who were half a second off the Mercedes pace. Raikkonen also had a run-in with his former team-mate Romain Grosjean, when he accused the Lotus driver of turning in on him as he tried to pass.
The Williams duo of Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas ended the session with 0.01 seconds the difference between them. Daniel Ricciardo was two-tenths of a second behind while his team-mate Daniil Kvyat, who struggled with the setup of his car, was further down the pack in 13th.
Roberto Merhi had another spin in his Manor, although he managed to get the car out of the gravel unlike FP2 where he brought out the red flag. Merhi also posted a time within 107% of the fastest lap of the session, his team-mate Will Stevens failed to make the 107% time as he could only manage six laps due to electrical issues.
Both Toro Rosso drivers made another appearance in the top ten, with Carlos Sainz Jr finishing in eigth and Max Verstappen two-tenths of a second behind in ninth. Marcus Ericsson rounded out the top ten in the Sauber.
Saturday’s qualifying session at Sepang begins at 17:00 local time (GMT +8).
| 2015 Formula 1 Petronas Malaysia Grand Prix – Free Practice 3 Results | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos | Driver | Team / Entry | Time | Gap | Laps | |
| 1. | Nico Rosberg |  |
Mercedes AMG Petronas F1W06 Hybrid | 1:39.690 | 13 | |
| 2. | Lewis Hamilton |  |
Mercedes AMG Petronas F1W06 Hybrid | 1:39.874 | + 0.184 | 10 |
| 3. | Kimi Räikkönen |  |
Scuderia Ferrari SF15-T | 1:40.245 | + 0.555 | 9 |
| 4. | Sebastian Vettel | |
Scuderia Ferrari SF15-T | 1:40.266 | + 0.576 | 13 |
| 5. | Felipe Massa |  |
Williams Martini Racing Mercedes FW37 | 1:40.391 | + 0.701 | 14 |
| 6. | Valtteri Bottas | |
Williams Martini Racing Mercedes FW37 | 1:40.406 | + 0.716 | 15 |
| 7. | Daniel Ricciardo |  |
Infiniti Red Bull Racing Renault RB11 | 1:40.590 | + 0.900 | 19 |
| 8. | Carlos Sainz Jr. |  |
Scuderia Toro Rosso Renault STR10 | 1:40.601 | + 0.911 | 19 |
| 9. | Max Verstappen |  |
Scuderia Toro Rosso Renault STR10 | 1:40.989 | + 1.299 | 18 |
| 10. | Marcus Ericsson |  |
Sauber F1 Team Ferrari C34 | 1:41.200 | + 1.510 | 19 |
| 11. | Romain Grosjean |  |
Lotus F1 Team Mercedes Ere Hybrid | 1:41.206 | + 1.516 | 16 |
| 12. | Pastor Maldonado |  |
Lotus F1 Team Mercedes Ere Hybrid | 1:41.592 | + 1.902 | 18 |
| 13. | Daniil Kvyat |  |
Infiniti Red Bull Racing Renault RB11 | 1:41.776 | + 2.086 | 14 |
| 14. | Nico Hülkenberg | |
Sahara Force India Mercedes VJM08 | 1:41.804 | + 2.114 | 15 |
| 15. | Fernando Alonso | |
McLaren Honda MP4-30 | 1:41.991 | + 2.301 | 13 |
| 16. | Sergio Pérez |  |
Sahara Force India Mercedes VJM08 | 1:42.100 | + 2.410 | 14 |
| 17. | Felipe Nasr | |
Sauber F1 Team Ferrari C34 | 1:42.117 | + 2.427 | 18 |
| 18. | Jenson Button | |
McLaren Honda MP4-30 | 1:42.319 | + 2.629 | 13 |
| 19. | Roberto Merhi | |
Manor Marussia F1 Team Ferrari MR03 | 1:46.647 | + 6.957 | 9 |
| 20. | Will Stevens | |
Manor Marussia F1 Team Ferrari MR03 | 1:47.059 | + 7.369 | 6 |
Image via Mercedes AMG F1 Petronas
Josh Kruse
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