Hamilton completes practice clean sweep in China

(Mercedes AMG PETRONAS F1 Team)

Reigning world championship Lewis Hamilton completed a Free Practice clean sweep after he set the fastest time in the final free practice session ahead of this afternoon’s qualifying session.

Hamilton completed 14 laps with a fastest time of 1m 37.615s ending the session just ahead of Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg who completed 16 laps with a fastest time of 1m 37.841s ending the morning just 0.226s behind Hamilton. Scuderia Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel was third fastest in the SF15-T. 

The German completed 17 laps with a fastest time of 1m 38.313s. The four time world champion ended the session just ahead of team mate Kimi Raikkonen.

Raikkonen’s fastest time of 1m 38.512s was just 0.897s behind Hamilton. Infiniti Red Bull Racing’s Daniel Ricciardo was fourth fastest for Milton Keynes based outfit despite a brake failure this morning. The Australian completed just eight laps with a fastest time of 1m 39.020s ending the morning 1.405s.

Daniil Kvyat was fifth fastest in the second Infiniti Red Bull Racing. The Russian completed 14 laps with a fastest time of 1m 39.106s.

Scuderia Toro Rosso’s Carlos Sainz was sixth fastest in the STR10. The Spaniard completed 17 laps with a fastest time of 1m 39.117s ending the session 1.498s behind Hamilton’s fastest time.

Williams Martini Racing Team’s Valtteri Bottas split the Scuderia Toro Rosso duo with a time of 1m 39.243s, 1.628s behind Hamilton having completed 15 laps. Max Verstappen was 9^th fastest completing 19 laps with a fastest time of 1m 39.243s.

The Lotus F1 Team’s Romain Grosjean rounded out the top ten in the E23 Hybrid setting a fastest time of 1m 39.405s. The Frenchman completed 14 laps and was 1.790s behind Hamilton.

Felipe Massa ended the session just outside the top ten in eleventh place with a fastest time of 1m 39.410s. The Brazilian completed 17 laps and was just ahead of the Sahara Force India Formula One Team’s Nico Hulkenberg.

The Sauber F1 Team’s Marcus Ericsson ended the morning in 13^th place with a time of 1m 39.559s having completed 18 laps. The Swede was 1.944s behind Hamilton’s Mercedes.

Felipe Nasr was 14^th fastest in the second Sauber C34 setting a fastest time of 1m 39.591s. McLaren Honda’s Jenson Button was 15^th fastest in the MP4-30 with a fastest time of 1m 39.694s, 2.079s behind former team mate Lewis Hamilton having completed 16 laps.

The Lotus F1 Team’s Pastor Maldonado set the 16^th fastest time of the morning with a fastest time of 1m 39.766s. The Venezuelan completed 16 laps. Sergio ‘Checco’ Perez was 17^th fastest in the second Sahara Force India. The Mexican set a time of 1m 39.781s. The Manor F1 Team’s Will Stevens and Roberto Merhi ended the morning session in 18^th and 19^th place for the Banbury based outfit.

McLaren Honda’s Fernando Alonso had a difficult final practice session after the Spaniard suffered an engine ignition problem completing no laps.

© Ben Johnston 2015