Singapore GP Practice Three: Alonso fastest but what about Mercedes?

Fernando Alonso was fastest in final practice for the Singapore GP on Saturday with Mercedes drivers Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton third and sixth fastest respectively.

The fact the title protagonists didn't end the session running one-two - and didn't appear to be putting down a clear marker ahead of qualifying - does beg the question of whether or not their performance might finally be matched this weekend.

Although Rosberg had set the pace on the soft prime tyre used during the majority of the session, neither he nor Hamilton improved significantly when they switched to the supersoft option.

Rosberg, who failed to complete a qualifying practice run on the red-striped tyre on Friday, improved by over a second when he was finally able to get a flying lap in.

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However, some drivers had improved by as much as 2.5s on Friday and he was soon out-paced by both Alonso and Daniel Ricciardo's Red Bull.

Meanwhile, Hamilton, who was fastest of all on the opening day of practice, ended up further down the order behind Jean-Eric Vergne's Toro Rosso and Sebastian Vettel's Red Bull.

It's usually been the case this season that Rosberg and Hamilton find more performance in P3 and the fact they didn't this time might also suggest that the title leaders were sandbagging.

Despite being fastest in P2, Hamilton had said that his W05 could handle better. But the Briton complained of "poor driveability" on Saturday evening and almost lost his car under braking at the fast Turn 5 right-hander.

Then again, as teams are fond of saying, there are no points to be won in practice and Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff seemed unpeturbed afterwards. "It’s a normal Practice Three, everything as expected," he told Sky Sports F1. "It’s Practice, not qualifying."

Whether it indicates their true pace or not will be revealed in the fullness of time but while Red Bull and Ferrari were again there or thereabouts, gains and losses were hinted at elsewhere in the field.

Williams, for one, appeared to take a step after a disappointing Friday which had left Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas 17th and 18th respectively and struggling with a lack of rear grip.

Less than 24 hours later, the pair ended the session seventh and eighth. However, the McLarens of Kevin Magnussen and Jenson Button were down in 12th and 13th spots.

KImi Raikkonen was ninth fastest in his Ferrari, with Esteban Gutierrez tenth for Sauber.

Further down the order, Pastor Maldonado was 18th for Lotus, with a commentating Damon Hill admitting that his “heart goes in his mouth” every time he saw the Venezuelan grappling with his replacement E22 - it's predecessor having ended up in the wall at Turn 10 on Friday.

Listening to team radio, meanwhile, it sounded as though some teams are still coming to terms with the FIA's ban on relaying driver performance pointers.

For example, Caterham told Kamui Kobayashi a sector time set by Jules Bianchi's rival Marussia and it also sounded as though Sergio Perez was being instructed on his driving technique.

However, Force India later pointed out that the offending message was sent whilst he was in the pits.

The 2014 Singapore GP is live only on Sky Sports F1 this weekend. Our race-day coverage begins at 11.30am on Sunday with lights out at Marina Bay at 1pm.