Hamilton four tenths down on Ferrari; Bottas has to change engine after water leak
Sunday 14 May 2017 09:22, UK
Ferrari seized the initiative in final practice for the Spanish GP as Kimi Raikkonen headed a one-two for the Scuderia ahead of championship leader Sebastian Vettel.
Lewis Hamilton, who made a mistake on his flying lap, was only third fastest, almost four tenths behind Raikkonen, on a troubled morning for Mercedes.
After the world champions detected a water leak on his new power unit overnight, Valtteri Bottas only made it on track for the final ten minutes of the session and will complete the weekend using the engine he used in the opening four rounds of the season.
Raikkonen was quicker than Vettel in Friday and was quickest of all on Saturday morning on both the soft and medium tyres.
There was further alarm for Vettel in the final minutes when his Ferrari apparently broke down at the end of the pitlane.
But despite their troubles, Ferrari and Mercedes still appear to be in a league of their own.
Max Verstappen trailed the frontrunners by almost a second in the upgraded Red Bull with Daniel Ricciardo two tenths of a second down on his team-mate.
Once again, Renault and Williams, led by Nico Hulkenberg and Felipe Massa respectively, were closely matched in their ongoing battle to be 'the best of the rest' while Fernando Alonso wrestled his McLaren into the top ten - the first glimmer of good news on what has already proved to be a desperately unhappy weekend for the team.
Qualifying begins at 1pm UK time.
Spanish GP Practice Three timesheet
1. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, 1:20.214
2. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari, + 0.242
3. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, + 0.381
4. Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes + 0.654
5. Max Verstappen, Red Bull, + 0.811
6. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull, + 1.035
7. Nico Hulkenberg, Renault + 1.456
8. Felipe Massa, Williams, + 1.532
9. Carlos Sainz, Toro Rosso, + 1.621
10. Fernando Alonso, McLaren, + 1.879
11. Romain Grosjean, Haas, + 1.914
12. Kevin Magnussen, Haas, +2.000
13. Sergio Perez, Force India, + 2.023
14. Esteban Ocon, Force India, + 2.083
15. Daniil Kvyat, Toro Rosso, + 2.177
16. Marcus Ericsson, Sauber + 2.299
17. Lance Stroll, Williams. + 2.360
18. Jolyon Palmer, Renault, + 2.541
19. Stoffel Vandoorne, McLaren, + 2.639
20. Pascal Wehrlein, Sauber, + 2.760
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