Malaysia GP P3: Nico Rosberg pips Lewis Hamilton by two tenths

Nico Rosberg was fastest in the third and final practice session for the Malaysia GP as Mercedes beat Ferrari by over half a second.

Rosberg’s lap of 1:39.690 was two-tenths quicker than the best Lewis Hamilton could produce as Mercedes provided compelling evidence that it will be a straight shoot-out between their two drivers for pole position.

Kimi Raikkonen was third fastest for Ferrari, just ahead of Sebastian Vettel, as the Scuderia fell over half a second behind the world champions.

However, with Williams yet to show any discernible pace this weekend, it appears that Ferrari are secure in the position of 'best of the rest' heading into qualifying.

Hamilton, who complained that his “braking was all over the place” during the session, struggled to find the sweetspot of his W06 in race trim in blisteringly-hot conditions at Sepang.

Hamilton completed just 20 laps in Friday practice and appears to be on the back foot in the latest installment of his head-to-head battle with Mercedes team-mate Rosberg.

While Daniel Ricciardo was seventh for Red Bull, both Toro Rossos once again finished in the top ten.

Further afield, there was more relative encouragement for McLaren as Fernando Alonso clambered up to the respectability of 15th in the timesheets. However, the MP4-30 remained over two seconds adrift of the field-leading W06 and any relief at McLaren will have been tempered by the overnight news that a problem with Jenson Button’s power unit required a full engine change.

Two weeks into the new season, both Button and Alonso are already running the second of the four engines every driver will be permitted to use during 2015 without penalty.

Roberto Merhi spun out in the Manor car which, judging by the team’s form so far this weekend, is likely to require dispensation from the stewards if it is to be allowed to race in Sunday’s grand prix.

Sky Sports F1 will show every session from the Malaysia Grand Prix weekend live and available on the move with Sky Go. The race starts at 8am on Sunday, with comprehensive build-up underway from 6:30am