Nico Rosberg crashes in final practice with Sebastian Vettel fastest
ByF1i
Updated 02/07/2016 at 11:29 GMT
Sebastian Vettel topped final practice for the Austrian Grand Prix as Nico Rosberg crashed due to a suspension failure.
Rosberg was on a qualifying simulation run when his left rear suspension failed as he accelerated out of Turn 2, with the car being pitched left and hitting the barrier head on. Rosberg was unhurt in the incident - which brought out the red flag - and the damage to the car was largely confined to the left rear corner and the nose.
Rosberg's hopes of a third successive Austrian Grand Prix win took a hit as he incurred a five-place grid penalty.
Mercedes said mechanics were working flat out to repair the damaged car in time for afternoon qualifying at the Red Bull Ring circuit.
"A gearbox penalty will be incurred as a full new unit will be fitted for qualifying," a spokesman said.
Championship leader Rosberg is the only driver to have won in Austria since the race returned in 2014 after an 11-year absence and he is hoping to continue the run on Sunday to increase his 24-point lead over team mate Lewis Hamilton.
However the accident, after Rosberg had dominated Friday's practice sessions with the fastest lap at the scenic circuit nestling in the wooded Styrian hills, could hand the British triple world champion a significant advantage.
Vettel was already quickest at the time of Rosberg's accident, with his time of 1:07.098 being the fastest of the weekend so far. Team-mate Kimi Raikkonen ensured it was a Ferrari one-two as he posted a 1:07.234, with both drivers using the ultrasoft tyre. While Vettel's pace is encouraging, the German will take a five-place grid penalty after qualifying for a gearbox change.
Lewis Hamilton was third quickest after admitting on Friday that he is not quick enough around the Red Bull Ring, with the defending champion 0.210s slower than Vettel on his late lap. Hamilton had earlier complained of problems with his rear tyres as Mercedes saw blistering on the ultrasoft compound during its high fuel runs.
The majority of drivers set their best times on new ultrasoft tyres, but Hamilton can attribute some of the deficit to Ferrari to the fact he was on used ultrasofts having had to abort his first run when Rosberg crashed.
Daniel Ricciardo was fourth quickest for Red Bull, half a second off Vettel's time just ahead of team-mate Max Verstappen as 0.122s separated the pair. The Two Williams drivers of Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa were sixth and seventh respectively - 0.7s off the pace - with Bottas suffering a spin at the final corner when set to improve late on.
Nico Hulkenberg was over 1.1s off the pace in eighth but set his best time on supersofts, with Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso rounding out the top ten.
Pascal Wehrlein was an encouraging 13th quickest for Manor as he suggested he could fight for a place in Q2 this afternoon. Wehrlein split the two Haas drivers, with both having set their times on supersofts. The two Toro Rossos struggled in FP3, with Daniil Kvyat 16th and Carlos Sainz 18th.
Mercedes is investigating the reason for Rosberg's failure but should be able to repair the car in time for qualifying.
Pos | Driver | Team | Time | Laps |
01 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 1:07.098 | 20 |
02 | Kimi Raikkonen | Ferrari | 1:07.234 | 26 |
03 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:07.308 | 20 |
04 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull | 1:07.639 | 22 |
05 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 1:07.761 | 22 |
06 | Valtteri Bottas | Williams | 1:07.814 | 23 |
07 | Felipe Massa | Williams | 1:07.831 | 27 |
08 | Nico Hulkenberg | Force India | 1:08.285 | 23 |
09 | Jenson Button | McLaren | 1:08.304 | 19 |
10 | Fernando Alonso | McLaren | 1:08.327 | 17 |
11 | Sergio Perez | Force India | 1:08.442 | 26 |
12 | Esteban Gutierrez | Haas | 1:08.475 | 22 |
13 | Pascal Wehrlein | Manor | 1:08.534 | 29 |
14 | Romain Grosjean | Haas | 1:08.550 | 21 |
15 | Kevin Magnussen | Renault | 1:08.569 | 31 |
16 | Daniil Kvyat | Toro Rosso | 1:08.786 | 32 |
17 | Jolyon Palmer | Renault | 1:08.939 | 27 |
18 | Carlos Sainz | Toro Rosso | 1:09.008 | 11 |
19 | Rio Haryanto | Manor | 1:09.116 | 28 |
20 | Marcus Ericsson | Sauber | 1:09.137 | 25 |
21 | Felipe Nasr | Sauber | 1:09.557 | 20 |
22 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 1:10.959 | 16 |
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