World
champion Lewis Hamilton continued his perfect start to the defence of
his Formula One crown by leading the way in final practice ahead of the
season-opening Australian Grand Prix.
In
the first dry running of the campaign, Hamilton, who was fastest in
both of Friday's rain-hit sessions, posted a best lap of one minute and
25.264 seconds at Melbourne's Albert Park to finish nearly two tenths
clear of his Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg.
But
Ferrari, and Sebastian Vettel in particular, will be quietly encouraged
that he was only a quarter-of-a-second down on Hamilton's best lap.
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| Reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton continued his impressive start to Australian Grand Prix practice |
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| The Mercedes star topped the timesheet in the third session to follow up on his success on Friday |
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| The 31-year-old posted a best lap of one minute and 25.264 seconds at Melbourne's Albert Park |
Carlos
Sainz, in the Toro Rosso, split the Ferrari drivers, with Kimi Raikkonen
fifth-fastest, and more than half-a-second adrift of team-mate Vettel.
While
intermittent rain and heavy winds wreaked havoc on Friday, the sun was
back out in force in Melbourne on Saturday. And all of the 22 drivers,
desperate to obtain invaluable data ahead of qualifying later on
Saturday, were quick to head out on to the Albert Park circuit.
Rio
Haryanto, the sport's first Indonesian driver, is one of three
debutants this weekend, and it was not long before he was involved in a
rather embarrassing gaffe.
Upon leaving
his garage, Haryanto collided with Romain Grosjean's Haas after he was
released straight into the path of the Frenchman. Haryanto damaged his
front wing, while Grosjean sustained damage to the floor of his car on
the American team's grand prix debut.
After
a substantial delay both drivers made it out on to the track with
Grosjean 19th and Haryanto propping up the standings in his Manor.
Rosberg,
who is bidding to prevent Hamilton from winning his third successive
title, dropped his Mercedes in the wet on Friday, sustaining damage to
his front wing.
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| Hamilton's team-mate Nico Rosberg watches from the garage ahead of Australian Grand Prix qualifying |
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| Rosberg, who is bidding to prevent Hamilton from winning third successive title, was second in third session |
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| Ferrari, and Sebastian Vettel in particular, will be quietly encouraged by the performance in the final session |
And
the 30-year-old German was nearly in trouble again after he was forced
to take evasive action of Kevin Magnussen's Renault. Both men took to
the escape road at Turn 13, and no further drama ensued.
Britain's
Jolyon Palmer, making his grand prix bow for Renault here, also ran off
the road, taking a trip across the gravel in the closing moments of the
one-hour session. Palmer finished 17th, more than two seconds off the
pace.
Elsewhere,
Max Verstappen was sixth for Toro Rosso, while the McLaren duo of
Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button finished 11th and 12th respectively.
The former was the subject of a 360 degree spin early on in the session.
The
pack will emerge from their garages at 1700 local time for the first
qualifying session of the year. And they will do so shrouded in
uncertainty with the revamped elimination-style format to make its
debut.
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| World champion Hamilton is greeted by supporters and poses for a selfie on his arrival at Albert Park |
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| The Brit is driven around in a golf buggy prior to taking part in the final practice session in Melbourne |
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| Hamilton makes his way towards the paddock as he preparing for the season-opening Australian Grand Prix |
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