Rosberg leads Hamilton in final practice
After Friday's sessions were led by Lewis Hamilton, the final practice session ahead of qualifying for the Brazilian Grand Prix saw Nico Rosberg go fastest. Sebastian Vettel in the Ferrari came up third fastest, finding more pace than he was able to on Friday.
The session gave a little preview of the track conditions we might expect for the race, as early on, the circuit was damp. The warm conditions made it dry up rapidly.
The one-hour session went according to plan for most, with no red flags or major incidents.
Markus Ericsson though will have little to say about the session, as he only managed a single lap before the team decided he would need an engine change. His team mate at Sauber, Felipe Nasr, didn't have reliabilty issues but similarly didn't impress, setting the 20th fastest time, ahead only of Ocon and his own team mate.
Results
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Car | Time | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 1:11.740 | - | 19 |
| 2 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:11.833 | +0.093s | 21 |
| 3 | 5 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 1:11.959 | +0.219s | 14 |
| 4 | 7 | Kimi Räikkönen | Ferrari | 1:12.027 | +0.287s | 16 |
| 5 | 33 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing Tag Heuer | 1:12.077 | +0.337s | 19 |
| 6 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull Racing Tag Heuer | 1:12.287 | +0.547s | 21 |
| 7 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Williams Mercedes | 1:12.614 | +0.874s | 27 |
| 8 | 30 | Jolyon Palmer | Renault | 1:12.968 | +1.228s | 19 |
| 9 | 19 | Felipe Massa | Williams Mercedes | 1:12.990 | +1.250s | 26 |
| 10 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | McLaren Honda | 1:13.002 | +1.262s | 12 |
| 11 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Force India Mercedes | 1:13.203 | +1.463s | 14 |
| 12 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Force India Mercedes | 1:13.231 | +1.491s | 19 |
| 13 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | Renault | 1:13.255 | +1.515s | 15 |
| 14 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | Toro Rosso Ferrari | 1:13.293 | +1.553s | 20 |
| 15 | 8 | Romain Grosjean | Haas Ferrari | 1:13.344 | +1.604s | 15 |
| 16 | 21 | Esteban Gutierrez | Haas Ferrari | 1:13.596 | +1.856s | 16 |
| 17 | 26 | Daniil Kvyat | Toro Rosso Ferrari | 1:13.609 | +1.869s | 13 |
| 18 | 22 | Jenson Button | McLaren Honda | 1:13.750 | +2.010s | 9 |
| 19 | 94 | Pascal Wehrlein | Mrt Mercedes | 1:13.972 | +2.232s | 20 |
| 20 | 12 | Felipe Nasr | Sauber Ferrari | 1:13.992 | +2.252s | 14 |
| 21 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Mrt Mercedes | 1:14.222 | +2.482s | 21 |
| 22 | 9 | Marcus Ericsson | Sauber Ferrari | - | - | 1 |
