Hamilton leads the way in final practice ahead of qualifying in Bahrain

(Mercedes AMG PETRONAS F1 Team)

Reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton set the fastest time this morning in the final practice session ahead of this evening’s qualifying session. The double world champion set a time of 1m 34.599s to end the session just 0.069s ahead of Scuderia Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel.

Nico Rosberg was third fastest in the second Mercedes ending the session just 0.369s behind his Mercedes team mate. Kimi Raikkonen topped the time-sheets early on in the session but had to settle for fourth place in the session. The Finn ended up 0.542s behind Hamilton and just ahead of fellow Finn Williams Martini Racing Team’s Valtteri Bottas,

Felipe Massa was sixth fastest in the second FW37 ending the session 0.872s behind Hamilton and just ahead of the Lotus F1 Team’s Pastor Maldonado who was seventh fastest in the E23 Hybrid. The Venezuelan ended the session just ahead of Infiniti Red Bull Racing’s Daniel Ricciardo.

Nico Hulkenberg did a great job for the Sahara Force India Formula One Team as the German ended the session in ninth place 1.822s behind Hamilton.

The Sauber F1 Team’s Felipe Nasr rounded out the top ten just 1.830s behind Hamilton. It was a great session for Jenson Button as the 2009 champion ended the session in eleventh place despite having rear grip issues.

Daniil Kvyat was 12^th fastest despite bringing out the red flag at Turn 4 where he beached his RB11 in the gravel trap. Marcus Ericsson was 13^th fastest for the Sauber F1 Team ending the session just ahead of Scuderia Toro Rosso’s Max Verstappen with the Sahara Force India Formula One Team’s Sergio Perez ending up in 15^th place.

Fernando Alonso had a tough session as the Spaniard ended up in 16^th place just ahead of the Lotus F1 Team’s Romain Grosjean. The Manor-Marussia duo of Will Stevens and Roberto Merhi rounded out the time sheets.

© Ben Johnston 2015