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.
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
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 |
2015 Mexican Grand Prix
- 2015 Mexican Grand Prix team radio transcript
- 2015 Mexican Grand Prix Predictions Championship results
- Top ten pictures from the 2015 Mexican Grand Prix
- Rosberg gets his revenge as Hamilton holds back
- Vote for your 2015 Mexican Grand Prix Driver of the Weekend
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?
Dave (@)
31st October 2015, 17:37
A combination of the higher altitude and Red Bull’s superior high-downforce aero package I think