Nico Rosberg, Mercedes, Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, 2015

Rosberg edges Hamilton for top time by thousandths

2015 Mexican Grand Prix third practice

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Nico Rosberg ended the final practice session for the Mexican Grand Prix just a few thousandths of a second ahead of his team mate.

Rosberg’s 1’21.083 – the best time of the weekend so far – was just 14 thousandths of a second faster than Lewis Hamilton’s best effort.

Having been the last driver to set a time, Hamilton told his team he felt he hadn’t done enough running as he completed his medium tyre programme. However on his soft tyre run he went off at turn four and was later told to make way for his team mate after his team detected a vibration on his car.

Mercedes’ rivals were close behind: Daniel Ricciardo was one tenth of a second slower on the soft tyre and Sebastian Vettel was a further tenth of a second behind. Next came Daniil Kvyat, following a harmless spin in the middle of the session.

Williams and Force India had both their drivers inside the top ten along with Carlos Sainz Jnr’s Toro Rosso. His team mate Max Verstappen went wide at turn 12 – a frequent trouble spot – while on course to improve his best time.

Kimi Raikkonen managed just four laps before a problem developed with his power unit, forcing the Ferrari driver to stop on track with smoke coming from the rear of his car. Jenson Button’s problem-filled weekend also continued – he reported problems recharging his battery and pitted for good soon after practice began.

Pos. No. Driver Car Best lap Gap Laps
1 6 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1’21.083 23
2 44 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1’21.097 0.014 23
3 3 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull-Renault 1’21.201 0.118 21
4 5 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1’21.294 0.211 24
5 26 Daniil Kvyat Red Bull-Renault 1’21.530 0.447 27
6 11 Sergio Perez Force India-Mercedes 1’21.603 0.520 27
7 77 Valtteri Bottas Williams-Mercedes 1’21.772 0.689 26
8 55 Carlos Sainz Jnr Toro Rosso-Renault 1’21.775 0.692 28
9 19 Felipe Massa Williams-Mercedes 1’21.945 0.862 27
10 27 Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 1’22.010 0.927 25
11 33 Max Verstappen Toro Rosso-Renault 1’22.039 0.956 31
12 13 Pastor Maldonado Lotus-Mercedes 1’22.042 0.959 21
13 8 Romain Grosjean Lotus-Mercedes 1’22.184 1.101 24
14 9 Marcus Ericsson Sauber-Ferrari 1’22.871 1.788 30
15 14 Fernando Alonso McLaren-Honda 1’23.065 1.982 26
16 12 Felipe Nasr Sauber-Ferrari 1’23.067 1.984 23
17 7 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 1’24.648 3.565 4
18 28 Will Stevens Manor-Ferrari 1’25.654 4.571 20
19 53 Alexander Rossi Manor-Ferrari 1’28.176 7.093 8
20 22 Jenson Button McLaren-Honda 1’29.336 8.253 4

Third practice visual gaps

Nico Rosberg – 1’21.083

+0.014 Lewis Hamilton – 1’21.097

+0.118 Daniel Ricciardo – 1’21.201

+0.211 Sebastian Vettel – 1’21.294

+0.447 Daniil Kvyat – 1’21.530

+0.520 Sergio Perez – 1’21.603

+0.689 Valtteri Bottas – 1’21.772

+0.692 Carlos Sainz Jnr – 1’21.775

+0.862 Felipe Massa – 1’21.945

+0.927 Nico Hulkenberg – 1’22.010

+0.956 Max Verstappen – 1’22.039

+0.959 Pastor Maldonado – 1’22.042

+1.101 Romain Grosjean – 1’22.184

+1.788 Marcus Ericsson – 1’22.871

+1.982 Fernando Alonso – 1’23.065

+1.984 Felipe Nasr – 1’23.067

+3.565 Kimi Raikkonen – 1’24.648

+4.571 Will Stevens – 1’25.654

+7.093 Alexander Rossi – 1’28.176

+8.253 Jenson Button – 1’29.336

Combined practice times

Pos Driver Car FP1 FP2 FP3 Fri/Sat diff Total laps
1 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1’27.196 1’21.531 1’21.083 -0.448 78
2 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1’27.723 1’21.961 1’21.097 -0.864 83
3 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull-Renault 1’27.185 1’21.868 1’21.201 -0.667 77
4 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1’26.886 1’21.984 1’21.294 -0.69 87
5 Daniil Kvyat Red Bull-Renault 1’26.295 1’21.776 1’21.530 -0.246 81
6 Sergio Perez Force India-Mercedes 1’27.581 1’23.597 1’21.603 -1.994 79
7 Valtteri Bottas Williams-Mercedes 1’27.303 1’22.721 1’21.772 -0.949 80
8 Carlos Sainz Jnr Toro Rosso-Renault 1’27.410 1’23.364 1’21.775 -1.589 106
9 Felipe Massa Williams-Mercedes 1’27.695 1’23.289 1’21.945 -1.344 83
10 Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 1’29.099 1’23.290 1’22.010 -1.28 76
11 Max Verstappen Toro Rosso-Renault 1’25.990 1’22.039 -3.951 71
12 Pastor Maldonado Lotus-Mercedes 1’28.559 1’23.363 1’22.042 -1.321 75
13 Romain Grosjean Lotus-Mercedes 1’23.614 1’22.184 -1.43 50
14 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 1’26.295 1’22.399 1’24.648 +2.249 73
15 Marcus Ericsson Sauber-Ferrari 1’28.498 1’24.533 1’22.871 -1.662 91
16 Fernando Alonso McLaren-Honda 1’30.072 1’22.993 1’23.065 +0.072 79
17 Felipe Nasr Sauber-Ferrari 1’28.579 1’23.430 1’23.067 -0.363 87
18 Jenson Button McLaren-Honda 1’32.091 1’23.109 1’29.336 +6.227 38
19 Will Stevens Manor-Ferrari 1’32.866 1’26.968 1’25.654 -1.314 59
20 Alexander Rossi Manor-Ferrari 1’30.619 1’25.940 1’28.176 +2.236 60
21 Jolyon Palmer Lotus-Mercedes 1’28.711 24

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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2 comments on “Rosberg edges Hamilton for top time by thousandths”

  1. Yes (@come-on-kubica)
    31st October 2015, 17:29

    Haven’t watched any of the free practice sessions, but where have Red Bull come from with this pace?

    1. A combination of the higher altitude and Red Bull’s superior high-downforce aero package I think

Comments are closed.