Nico Rosberg edged out Max Verstappen by just 0.059s in final practice for the Singapore Grand Prix as Lewis Hamilton struggled.
With Verstappen saying on Friday he was confident he could close a 0.4s deficit to Rosberg, the 18-year-old duly did so as Red Bull displayed its ability to challenge Mercedes in Singapore in FP3. Kimi Raikkonen was third fastest for Ferrari - half a second off the pace - but Daniel Ricciardo in fourth place hit traffic in the final sector on his best lap.
Sebastian Vettel finished the session three quarters of a second adrift in fifth place, with the German complaining about rear braking stability on corner entry as he again ended up slower than team-mate Raikkonen.
Vettel ended FP3 ahead of Nico Hulkenberg and Daniil Kvyat as Toro Rosso continued its strong form at the Marina Bay Circuit. Hamilton was eighth as he struggled to put a clean lap together and didn't set a representative time, with his best lap coming on the supersoft tyre compared to ultrasofts for the rest of the field.
The session was red flagged after 15 minutes when Pascal Wehrlein spun at Turn 11, damaging his rear wing against the barrier and leaving debris on the circuit. While cars were returning to the pits, a giant lizard then appeared at Turn 3, waiting for Verstappen to pass in his Red Bull before continuing across the track and through the barrier.
On the restart, Felipe Nasr immediately locked up at Turn 13 with Esteban Gutierrez in close attendance and had to spin his car round to continue, followed by Hamilton going straight on at Turn 7.
Hamilton went off again the same corner on his ultrasoft tyre run and heavily locked his front left tyre, causing him to abort his lap. The championship leader was also complaining of high temperatures on the right hand side of his cockpit, and goes into qualifying on the back foot having completed just 10 laps in FP2 on Friday due to a hydraulic problem.
Carlos Sainz and Valtteri Bottas rounded out the top ten, with Sergio Perez and Fernando Alonso close behind at the end of the session, suggesting there will be a close fight between Williams and McLaren to challenge for a place in Q3 in qualifying.
FP3 RESULTS
| Pos | Driver | Team | Time | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 1:44.352 | 15 |
| 02 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 1:44.411 | 15 |
| 03 | Kimi Raikkonen | Ferrari | 1:44.860 | 15 |
| 04 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull | 1:44.903 | 12 |
| 05 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 1:45.104 | 13 |
| 06 | Nico Hulkenberg | Force India | 1:45.316 | 13 |
| 07 | Daniil Kvyat | Toro Rosso | 1:45.503 | 19 |
| 08 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:45.806 | 9 |
| 09 | Carlos Sainz | Toro Rosso | 1:45.879 | 17 |
| 10 | Valtteri Bottas | Williams | 1:45.947 | 16 |
| 11 | Sergio Perez | Force India | 1:46.112 | 15 |
| 12 | Fernando Alonso | McLaren | 1:46.164 | 13 |
| 13 | Esteban Gutierrez | Haas | 1:46.316 | 16 |
| 14 | Felipe Massa | Williams | 1:46.529 | 17 |
| 15 | Kevin Magnussen | Renault | 1:47.116 | 11 |
| 16 | Jenson Button | McLaren | 1:47.277 | 16 |
| 17 | Felipe Nasr | Sauber | 1:47.293 | 18 |
| 18 | Romain Grosjean | Haas | 1:47.411 | 20 |
| 19 | Marcus Ericsson | Sauber | 1:47.956 | 20 |
| 20 | Jolyon Palmer | Renault | 1:48.689 | 13 |
| 21 | Pascal Wehrlein | Manor | 1:49.201 | 10 |
| 22 | Esteban Ocon | Manor | 1:49.565 | 14 |
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