Lewis Hamilton looks to be the man to beat once again following a clean sweep of all three practice sessions for the Chinese Grand Prix.
Key Points from FP3:
– Hamilton fastest by just two-tenths to team-mate Nico Rosberg.
– Ferrari once again ‘best of the rest’ with Sebastian Vettel third and Kimi Raikkonen fourth.
– Meanwhile Red Bull filled the next two spots with Daniel Ricciardo and Daniil Kvyat separated by a fraction.
– Max Verstappen brought out the yellow flags late in the session with a spin, he finished ninth.
– Felipe Massa also encountered smoke which appeared to come from within the cockpit. He finished 11th fastest.
– Manor’s Will Stevens posted a best time two seconds ahead of team-mate Roberto Merhi.
– Fernando Alonso failed to complete a single lap after his car came to a smokey stop on his out lap.
| # | Driver | Team | Time | Gap | Laps |
| 01 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:37.615 | 14 | |
| 02 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 1:37.841 | 0.226 | 16 |
| 03 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 1:38.313 | 0.698 | 17 |
| 04 | Kimi Raikkonen | Ferrari | 1:38.512 | 0.897 | 16 |
| 05 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull | 1:39.020 | 1.405 | 8 |
| 06 | Daniil Kvyat | Red Bull | 1:39.106 | 1.491 | 14 |
| 07 | Carlos Sainz | Toro Rosso | 1:39.113 | 1.498 | 17 |
| 08 | Valtteri Bottas | Williams | 1:39.243 | 1.628 | 15 |
| 09 | Max Verstappen | Toro Rosso | 1:39.274 | 1.659 | 19 |
| 10 | Romain Grosjean | Lotus | 1:39.405 | 1.790 | 14 |
| 11 | Felipe Massa | Williams | 1:39.410 | 1.795 | 17 |
| 12 | Nico Hulkenberg | Force India | 1:39.513 | 1.898 | 14 |
| 13 | Marcus Ericsson | Sauber | 1:39.559 | 1.944 | 18 |
| 14 | Felipe Nasr | Sauber | 1:39.591 | 1.976 | 19 |
| 15 | Jenson Button | McLaren | 1:39.694 | 2.079 | 16 |
| 16 | Pastor Maldonado | Lotus | 1:39.766 | 2.151 | 16 |
| 17 | Sergio Perez | Force India | 1:39.781 | 2.166 | 17 |
| 18 | Will Stevens | Marussia | 1:42.928 | 5.313 | 15 |
| 19 | Roberto Merhi | Marussia | 1:44.956 | 7.341 | 9 |
| 20 | Fernando Alonso | McLaren | No time | 1 |
