Kimi Raikkonen put Ferrari back on top in Saturday's final free practice session, achieving a new lap record before this afternoon's qualifying session.
The Finn edged out team mate Sebastian Vettel by 0.197s, with Mercedes Lewis Hamilton just 0.001s behind his championship rival.
It was a close battle at the front in the first half hour of the session, with the top three drivers separated by just 0.058s.
Red Bull's pair of Max Verstappen and Daniel Riccairdo briefly found themselves at the helm after a run on the ultrasoft tyres. They ultimately ended the morning respectively P4 and P5, sandwiching Valtteri Bottas in fifth place.
Renault's Jolyon Palmer put in a great effort to finish the session seventh, in front of Sergio Perez, Carlos Sainz and Fernando Alonso.
Dany Kvyat was forced to park his Toro Rosso early on when his engine suddenly lost power, while Marcus Ericsson covered just six laps to end up last and over 4 seconds adrift from Kimi Raikkonen.
Pos | Driver | Team | Time | Gap | Laps |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Kimi Räikkönen | Ferrari | 1:43.916s | 17 | |
2 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 1:44.113s | + 0.197s | 15 |
3 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:44.114s | + 0.198s | 11 |
4 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 1:45.034s | + 1.118s | 13 |
5 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | 1:45.230s | + 1.314s | 18 |
6 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull | 1:45.286s | + 1.370s | 18 |
7 | Jolyon Palmer | Renault | 1:45.491s | + 1.575s | 11 |
8 | Sergio Pérez | Force India | 1:45.857s | + 1.941s | 14 |
9 | Carlos Sainz | Toro Rosso | 1:45.942s | + 2.026s | 18 |
10 | Fernando Alonso | McLaren | 1:46.060s | + 2.144s | 12 |
11 | Nico Hülkenberg | Renault | 1:46.064s | + 2.148s | 11 |
12 | Esteban Ocon | Force India | 1:46.179s | + 2.263s | 14 |
13 | Romain Grosjean | Haas | 1:46.196s | + 2.280s | 14 |
14 | Stoffel Vandoorne | McLaren | 1:46.300s | + 2.384s | 14 |
15 | Lance Stroll | Williams | 1:46.620s | + 2.704s | 18 |
16 | Felipe Massa | Williams | 1:46.667s | + 2.751s | 22 |
17 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | 1:46.690s | + 2.774s | 13 |
18 | Daniil Kvyat | Toro Rosso | 1:47.903s | + 3.987s | 7 |
19 | Pascal Wehrlein | Sauber | 1:48.296s | + 4.380s | 17 |
20 | Marcus Ericsson | Sauber | 1:48.300s | + 4.384s | 6 |
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