Hamilton and Rosberg closely matched in FP3

F1 Grand Prix, GP Russia, Sochi International Street Circuit

Lewis Hamilton was narrowly fastest in the final practice session ahead of qualifying at Sochi. He left it until the very last minutes to set the fastest time on a new set of super softs, following repeated swaps with his team mate at the top of the timesheet.

Just like in Friday's two sessions, almost all drivers had trouble doing consistent quick laps, as the limited grip available made it difficult to predict the car's behaviour exactly. Testimony to that were lots off off track moment, including both both Mercedes drivers.

Daniil Kvyat perhaps had the most violent off-track excursion as he locked up the right front under braking, eventually missing the corner entry and forcing Hamilton off the track as well. However, no damage was done, so both could continue without trouble, even though the Red Bull driver rapidly required a new set of tyres.

The only real interruption in the session was caused by a virtual safety car period triggered by Sergio Perez. The Force India driver went wide in turn 13, and then failed to make it back onto the track without help, as he was too close to the barriers. All was resolved quickly.

The Ferrari were again the closest match to Mercedes, albeit that Vettel was 6 tenths down on both silver cars, with Raikkonen another 6 tenths further away from the pace setter.

Williams appeared to have found some pace compared to Friday, with the duo slotting in behind Ferrari in 5th and 6th.

Max Verstappen moved up into 7th in the closing minutes, dropping Jenson Button to 8th. The latter's results confirm the team's expectations that their car would be better suited to Sochi, increasing their hopes of getting one or two cars into Q3.