Ferrari rebound from Friday struggle to finish first and third; Mercedes only fifth and seventh; Verstappen loses session with sensor problem
Monday 29 August 2016 10:39, UK
Ferrari made a surprise appearance at the top of the timesheet in final practice for the Belgian GP as Kimi Raikkonen set the pace from Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo.
On another hot morning in the heart of the Ardennes forest, Mercedes' expected return to the top of the timesheet did not materialise despite Nico Rosberg and the penalised Lewis Hamilton eventually using the quickest supersoft tyre after focusing on long runs.
Hamilton's Mercedes was fitted with its third fresh engine of the weekend, bringing his grid penalty up to 55 places and confirming he will start Sunday's race from last place. The world champion again spent most of the session concentrating on heavy-fuel race runs before a late run on the supersofts.
The Mercedes pair finished fifth and seventh respectively, half a second down on Raikkonen's impressive P3 pace of 1:47.974. Sebastian Vettel was third in the second Ferrari as the Scuderia rebounded from what had appeared to be a difficult Friday.
Ricciardo wound up 0.2 seconds adrift of Raikkonen in the lead Red Bull, but team-mate Max Verstappen finished at the foot of the order after losing most of the session with a suspected sensor problem.
When does Belgian GP qualifying start?
However, after investigations by the team, Red Bull chief Christian Horner told Sky F1 the issue should not result in a gearbox change and costly grid penalty for Verstappen, whose presence has resulted in thousands of Dutch fans travelling to the race.
Valtteri Bottas finished a promising fourth for Williams, with Nico Hulkenberg splitting the two Mercedes cars in the lead Force India.
Meanwhile, stewards are investigating two separate incidents where drivers on a fast lap were baulked by cars on slow ones.
Pascal Wehrlein was angered by Esteban Gutierrez's driving down the Kemmel Straight with the Manor taking to the grass, while Sebastian Vettel was blocked by Renault's Kevin Magnussen later in the session.
An angry Vettel said over the radio: "What an idiot. Did you see that? It's free practice. It's called free practice. Who gives a s***!"
Practice Three timesheet
1. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, 1:47.974
2. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull, 1:48.189
3. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari, 1:48.297
4. Valtteri Bottas, Williams, 1:48.504
5. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 1:48.635
6. Nico Hulkenberg, Force India, 1:48.739
7. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes, 1:48.742
8. Felipe Massa, Williams, 1:48.783
9. Sergio Perez, Force India, 1:48.915
10. Romain Grosjean, Haas, 1:49.272
11. Fernando Alonso, McLaren, 1:49.453
12. Esteban Gutierrez, Haas, 1:49.631
13. Jenson Button, McLaren, 1:49.665
14. Kevin Magnussen, Renault, 1:49.716
15. Pascal Wehrlein, Manor, 1:49.761
16. Daniil Kvyat, Toro Rosso, 1:50.023
17. Carlos Sainz, Toro Rosso, 1:50.078
18. Jolyon Palmer, Renault, 1:50.241
19. Felipe Nasr, Sauber, 1:50.420
20. Esteban Ocon, Manor, 1:50.693
21. Marcus Ericsson, Sauber, 1:51.319
22. Max Verstappen, Red Bull, No time
