Mercedes and Ferrari were separated by just 0.2s during final practice for the Australian Grand Prix.
While it was a clean sweep for Lewis Hamilton as he again set the fastest time for Mercedes, the triple world champion was only 0.228s clear of Sebastian Vettel in third place as Ferrari showed competitive pace on the supersoft compound tyre.
Nico Rosberg was second fastest in the other Mercedes - 0.176s slower than his team-mate - but had been comfortably quickest on the soft compound tyre as Mercedes initially showed ominous speed. Enjoying a large margin, it was only when the teams switched to the supersofts that the gap closed.
Ferrari had tested the supersoft compound in testing but for Mercedes it was the first time the team had used the red-walled tyre. Rosberg also went off earlier in the session, taking to the escape road at Turn 12 and being followed by Kevin Magnussen in the Renault.
Kimi Raikkonen had a scruffy lap on the supersofts and ended up fifth quickest - 0.6s slower than Vettel - allowing Carlos Sainz to post an eye-catching time for Toro Rosso with the fourth best lap. Sainz was 0.6s slower than Hamilton but the lap suggests Q3 will be the target for Toro Rosso.
Sainz's team-mate Max Verstappen was sixth fastest ahead of Valtteri Bottas, Daniel Ricciardo, Felipe Massa and Sergio Perez, with the Mexican spinning at Turn 15 after putting two wheels on the grass. The McLaren pair of Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button were just outside the top ten, 1.6s off the pace, with Alonso also spinning on the exit of Turn 15.
Yesterday's rain in Melbourne made for a busy session which started in disastrous style for new boy Rio Haryanto and new team Haas. Romain Grosjean was released from his garage and pulled in to the pit lane just as Haryanto was creeping out of his own garage, but the Manor was slow pulling away and drove in to the side of the Haas as it came past.
The two cars were tangled in the pits and had to be pulled apart, with Haryanto needing a new front wing but recovering to complete 23 laps. Grosjean - blameless in the incident - was less fortunate as he needed a new floor and managed just 11 laps late in the session.
There was still encouragement for Haas despite the problems, with both cars ahead of Felipe Nasr in the standings, although all three were covered by just 0.009s. In a more competitive showing than 2015, the entire field was covered by 3.6s.
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2016 F1 season: Team-by-team preview
| Pos | Driver | Team | Time | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:25.624 | 24 |
| 02 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 1:25.800 | 25 |
| 03 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 1:25.852 | 25 |
| 04 | Carlos Sainz | Toro Rosso | 1:26.257 | 28 |
| 05 | Kimi Raikkonen | Ferrari | 1:26.435 | 23 |
| 06 | Max Verstappen | Toro Rosso | 1:26.701 | 26 |
| 07 | Valtteri Bottas | Williams | 1:26.730 | 28 |
| 08 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull | 1:26.768 | 22 |
| 09 | Felipe Massa | Williams | 1:27.151 | 28 |
| 10 | Sergio Perez | Force India | 1:27.242 | 22 |
| 11 | Fernando Alonso | McLaren | 1:27.263 | 20 |
| 12 | Jenson Button | McLaren | 1:27.341 | 20 |
| 13 | Daniil Kvyat | Red Bull | 1:27.430 | 22 |
| 14 | Marcus Ericsson | Sauber | 1:27.659 | 26 |
| 15 | Kevin Magnussen | Renault | 1:27.871 | 24 |
| 16 | Nico Hulkenberg | Force India | 1:27.988 | 22 |
| 17 | Jolyon Palmer | Renault | 1:28.117 | 24 |
| 18 | Esteban Gutierrez | Haas | 1:28.284 | 21 |
| 19 | Romain Grosjean | Haas | 1:28.292 | 11 |
| 20 | Felipe Nasr | Sauber | 1:28.293 | 26 |
| 21 | Pascal Wehrlein | Manor | 1:29.046 | 18 |
| 22 | Rio Haryanto | Manor | 1:29.272 | 23 |
