Formula 1 General Chat & Discussion

Result of the qualifying :

1. Nico Rosberg - Mercedes GP 1:36.067
2. Lewis Hamilton - Mercedes GP 1:36.443 +0.376
3. Valtteri Bottas - Williams 1:36.906 +0.839
4. Felipe Massa - Williams 1:37.205 +1.138
5. Daniel Ricciardo - Red Bull Racing 1:37.244 +1.177
6. Fernando Alonso - Ferrari 1:37.610 +1.543
7. Jenson Button - McLaren 1:37.655 +1.588
8. Kevin Magnussen - McLaren 1:37.706 +1.639
9. Kimi Räikkönen - Ferrari 1:37.804 +1.737
10. Adrian Sutil - Sauber 1:37.810 +1.743
Q2
11. Pastor Maldonado - Lotus - 1:38.467 +2.400
12. Sergio Perez - Force India - 1:38.554 +2.487
13. Nico Hulkenberg - Force India - 1:38.598 +2.531
14. Daniil Kvyat - Toro Rosso - 1:38.699 +2.632
Q1
15. Jean-Eric Vergne - Toro Rosso - 1:39.250 +3.183
16. Esteban Gutierrez - Sauber - 1:39.555 +3.488
17. Sebastian Vettel - Red Bull Racing - 1:39.621 +3.554
18. Romain Grosjean - Lotus - 1:39.679 +3.612

Qualifying Time : 1:36.067
Pole : Nico Rosberg
Team Battle : Jenson Button > Kevin Magnussen
Grid Pos. Sergio Perez : 12th place


Rosberg beats Hamilton to Austin pole :
Nico Rosberg beat Mercedes team-mate and championship leader Lewis Hamilton to pole position for the United States Grand Prix, lapping almost four tenths of a second faster in Saturday's qualifying session. Gradually gaining momentum as the hour wore on, Rosberg clocked a 1:36.067 in the final shootout, 0.376 seconds faster than Hamilton. Hamilton had topped the opening segment, but repeatedly complained of locking tyres and was unable to live with Rosberg's ever-improving pace. Rosberg can no longer be beaten outright to the pole trophy by Hamilton, with the qualifying record standing at 9-7 ahead of the final two rounds. Williams locked out the second row of the grid, Valtteri Bottas getting the better of team-mate Felipe Massa by three tenths of a second. Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo improved on his second run to place place fifth, ahead Fernando Alonso's Ferrari. McLaren drivers Jenson Button and Kevin Magnussen wound up seventh and eighth, but the 2009 World Champion will drop five places on the grid due to a gearbox change. Kimi Räikkönen was the slowest of the runners to complete two runs, with Sauber's Adrian Sutil opting for a sole flyer after making it through to Q3 for the first time this season. Pastor Maldonado was on course to beat Sutil to the final shootout, but made a mess of the final two corners on his last Q2 effort and had to settle for 11th. The Lotus driver was eliminated from the second phase with Force India duo Sergio Pérez and Nico Hülkenberg, and Toro Rosso rookie Daniil Kvyat.
Kvyat falls to the back of the grid for taking on a seventh Internal Combustion Engine (ICE), with a portion of the 10-place penalty to be carried over to the Brazilian Grand Prix. Jean-Éric Vergne fell at the first qualifying hurdle, a phase which also claimed Sauber's Esteban Gutiérrez, Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel and Romain Grosjean's Lotus. Vettel completed just one flying lap en route to 17th. The quadruple World Champion starts tomorrow's race from the pit lane for an entire power unit change. Grosjean was on target to get himself out of trouble but locked up and ran wide on his final lap, leading to the Frenchman apologising over the radio.

Kind Regards
Shaky - Schumi

Result of the 3rd practice session :

1. Lewis Hamilton - Mercedes GP - 1:37.107
2. Nico Rosberg - Mercedes GP - 1:37.990 +0.883
3. Felipe Massa - Williams - 1:38.214 +1.107
4. Valtteri Bottas - Williams - 1:38.437 +1.330
5. Fernando Alonso - Ferrari - 1:38.727 +1.620
6. Daniel Ricciardo - Red Bull Racing - 1:38.927 +1.820
7. Nico Hulkenberg - Force India - 1:38.960 +1.853
8. Adrian Sutil - Sauber - 1:39.000 +1.893
9. Kimi Räikkönen - Ferrari - 1:39.143 +2.036
10. Jenson Button - McLaren - 1:39.241 +2.134
11. Kevin Magnussen - McLaren - 1:39.335 +2.228
12. Pastor Maldonado - Lotus - 1:39.448 +2.341
13. Romain Grosjean - Lotus - 1:39.561 +2.454
14. Sergio Perez - Force India - 1:39.582 +2.475
15. Daniil Kvyat - Toro Rosso - 1:39.688 +2.581
16. Esteban Gutierrez - Sauber - 1:40.208 +3.101
17. Jean-Eric Vergne - Toro Rosso - 1:41.443 +4.336
18. Sebastian Vettel - Red Bull Racing - 1:43.765 +6.658

Hamilton comfortably fastest in final practice :
Lewis Hamilton completed a clean sweep of practice sessions at the Circuit of the Americas by heading the final hour of running ahead of qualifying. The Mercedes driver lowered the best time of the weekend to a 1’37.107 but team mate Nico Rosberg was over eight tenths of a second slower. Rosberg was twice called into the pits to have his brakes examined as the team addressed an offset in performance between the two sides of his car. It wasn’t plain sailing for Hamilton either, who spun his car at turn 12 towards the end of his running on the medium tyres. Williams showed their hand in final practice but their quickest driver, Felipe Massa, was well over a second slower than Hamilton. Valtteri Bottas ensured the Grove cars were decisively best of the rest.
Fernando Alonso was fifth-quickest for Ferrari while Kimi Raikkonen, ninth, was troubled by a vibration on his car. Daniel Ricciardo put Red Bull sixth. Sebastian Vettel concentrated on his race set-up in the other car, as his pit lane start penalty means he has nothing to gain from refining his one-lap pace. Both Force Indias made it into the top ten but the fastest McLaren was no higher than tenth. Tyre warm-up in the cool conditions of Saturday morning proved a particular problem for Jenson Button.

Kind Regards
Shaky - Schumi

Result of the 2nd practice session :

1. Lewis Hamilton - Mercedes GP - 1:39.085
2. Nico Rosberg - Mercedes GP - 1:39.088 +0.003
3. Fernando Alonso - Ferrari -1:40.189 +1.104
4. Daniel Ricciardo - Red Bull Racing - 1:40.390 +1.305
5. Felipe Massa - Williams - 1:40.457 +1.372
6. Kimi Räikkönen - Ferrari - 1:40.543 +1.458
7. Daniil Kvyat - Toro Rosso - 1:40.631 +1.546
8. Kevin Magnussen - McLaren - 1:40.641 +1.556
9. Jenson Button - McLaren - 1:40.698 +1.613
10. Nico Hulkenberg - Force India - 1:40.800 +1.715
11. Valtteri Bottas - Williams - 1:40.828 +1.743
12. Romain Grosjean - Lotus - 1:41.054 +1.969
13. Jean-Eric Vergne - Toro Rosso - 1:41.110 +2.025
14. Sergio Perez - Force India - 1:41.123 +2.038
15. Pastor Maldonado - Lotus - 1:41.158 +2.073
16. Adrian Sutil - Sauber - 1:41.332 +2.247
17. Esteban Gutierrez - Sauber - 1:41.420 +2.335
18. Sebastian Vettel - Red Bull Racing - 1:43.980 +4.895

Lewis Hamilton pips F1 title rival Nico Rosberg in 2nd practice :
Lewis Hamilton outpaced Formula 1 title rival and Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg by three thousandths of a second in Friday afternoon practice for the United States Grand Prix. Rosberg initially had the advantage after both had set their first flying laps following their switch to the soft-compound Pirellis, but Hamilton found time on his second lap to jump ahead of his Mercedes team-mate. Although Rosberg did set the fastest sector time of all in the middle sector on his second quick lap, he was unable to improve overall so had to settle for second place. The Mercedes drivers completely dominated the session, outpacing McLaren pairing Kevin Magnussen and Jenson Button in the early stages on the slower medium-compound Pirellis by over 1.5s. Their advantage over the rest of field was trimmed to 1.104s once everyone had completed performance runs on the softs, with Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso best-of-the-rest after leaving his switch to the faster rubber later than most. Daniel Ricciardo was fourth fastest for Red Bull, while Felipe Massa jumped up to fifth shortly after the halfway mark in the session despite having suffered a minor lock-up on his quick lap and spun his Williams at the first corner early on. The second Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen was sixth, with the Finn struggling to find a set-up on his car that gave him the necessary feel to extract more pace. One of the stars of the session was Toro Rosso's Daniil Kvyat, who continued his impressive form of the morning to set the seventh-fastest time of the day. Behind him were the two McLarens of Magnussen and Button, who were unable to be as competitive in relative terms on the softs as they had been on the mediums. Force India driver Nico Hulkenberg completed the top 10, even though he did make an error on his quick lap, just beating Valtteri Bottas to the position. Romain Grosjean recovered from a dramatic high-speed spin in the fast Turn 5/6 to set 12th fastest time, almost two seconds off the pace, ahead of Toro Rosso driver Jean-Eric Vergne and Sergio Perez. Like Lotus team-mate Grosjean, Pastor Maldonado also struggled with the tricky-to-drive Lotus, spinning on what should have been his quickest lap and ending up 15th ahead of the two Saubers of Adrian Sutil and Esteban Gutierrez. Sebastian Vettel was slowest of the depleted, 18-car field, almost five seconds off the pace. The German is focusing entirely on preparations for the race given he will start from the pits irrespective of where he qualifies, but made a late start to the session because of a gearbox change.

Kind Regards
Shaky - Schumi

Qualification Format modified for smaller grid in US :
The grid contains no twenty-two this weekend, but only eighteen cars.Caterham and Marussia are placed under guardianship ( placed under legal restraint ? correct ? ) . And shine in the US by there absence. This has had the effect that a modification of the qualifying format was needed . Normally survive sixteen participants the first part of qualifying, but in a field with eighteen cars would mean only two dropouts. Add the fact that Sebastian Vettel is not going to do qualifying due to an engine change and the modification of the format is logical. Under the new system fall after Q1 and Q2 the slowest four riders, after which ten riders in Q3 fight for pole position.This is the result of consultation between the stewards in Austin .

Kind Regards
Shaky - Schumi

Here's the result of the 1st practice session :

1. Lewis Hamilton - Mercedes GP - 1:39.941
2. Nico Rosberg - Mercedes GP - 1:40.233 +0.292
3. Jenson Button - McLaren - 1:40.319 +0.378
4. Daniil Kvyat - Toro Rosso - 1:40.887 +0.946
5. Kevin Magnussen - McLaren - 1:40.987 +1.046
6. Fernando Alonso - Ferrari - 1:41.065 +1.124
7. Sebastian Vettel - Red Bull Racing - 1:41.463 +1.522
8. Felipe Nasr - Williams - 1:41.545 +1.604
9. Nico Hulkenberg - Force India - 1:41.722 +1.781
10. Max Verstappen - Toro Rosso - 1:41.785 +1.844
11. Felipe Massa - Williams - 1:41.907 +1.966
12. Kimi Räikkönen - Ferrari - 1:41.965 +2.024
13. Pastor Maldonado - Lotus - 1:42.329 +2.388
14. Adrian Sutil - Sauber - 1:42.333 +2.392
15. Sergio Perez - Force India - 1:42.359 +2.418
16. Esteban Gutierrez - Sauber - 1:42.516 +2.575
17. Daniel Ricciardo - Red Bull Racing - 1:42.598 +2.657
18. Romain Grosjean - Lotus - 1:43.229 +3.288

Lewis Hamilton edges Nico Rosberg in 1st practice session :
Formula 1 title rivals Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg predictably set the pace for Mercedes in the first free practice session for the United States Grand Prix. The absence of F1 minnows Caterham and Marussia meant just 18 cars took to the track for the first time since the 2005 Monaco GP, and points leader Hamilton was the only driver to lap in the 1m39s as he beat team-mate Rosberg to the top spot by just under three tenths of a second. McLaren led the way for most of the session, despite technical problems enforcing radio silence between the pitwall and both drivers. Jenson Button ran the Mercedes drivers close and ended the session less than a tenth slower than Rosberg. Team-mate Kevin Magnussen also enjoyed a spell at the top of the times early on, but he slipped to fifth in the final classification, a tenth behind Daniil Kvyat's Toro Rosso. Ferrari trialled experimental front and rear wings in this session, as well as checking driver visibility should it decide to raise the height of the top surface of the nose on next year's car. Fernando Alonso rounded out the top six, 1.124s off the pace, while Kimi Raikkonen was 12th quickest in the sister car. Four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel, who is set to start from the pitlane on Sunday after breaching rules that limit the number of engines he is allowed to use across the season, set the seventh quickest time in his Red Bull-Renault.
Team-mate Daniel Ricciardo ran into engine problems of his own early on in the session, which restricted him to the 17th fastest time and meant he completed just five laps. Romain Grosjean was the only driver to lap slower than Ricciardo, as he trialled an experimental non-twin-tusk nose on his Lotus E22. Max Verstappen made his second free practice appearance of the season, taking over the Toro Rosso normally raced by Jean-Eric Vergne. The Dutch teenager lapped nine tenths off Kvyat in rounding out the top 10, just behind Williams reserve Felipe Nasr - in Valtteri Bottas' car - and Force India's Nico Hulkenberg. Cars returned to the circuit at the end of the session to allow the FIA to trial a new yellow flag speed limit set to be implemented to improve safety following Jules Bianchi's Japanese GP crash.

Kind Regards
Shaky - Schumi

Circuit of the Americas – Austin(Texas) – third edition – 31 October 1-2 November 2014
The circuit length is 5.5 kilometers and the driving direction is counterclockwise. (20 corners with 9 right turns and 11 left turns) The first section is the best and the first curve is very interesting. In the opening part there is also a series of corners like Maggotts/Becketts at Silverstone. In my opinion, Austin is the best circuit of new breed.

Marussia and Caterham will not be racing in Austin.
And also Sebastian Vettel probably will sit out qualifying. The world champion has already used his allocation of five power units for the current season and his Red Bull car could require another engine ahead of this weekend’s grand prix. The penalty for an entire engine change, outside of the permitted allocation, is to start the race from the pit-lane, whatever he does during the qualifying.
so, only 17 cars are expected in qualifying for the US Grand Prix

For this week end Pirelli will bring Soft (Yellow-marked) and Medium (White-marked) compounds,
a different choice than last year (in 2013 there were hard and medium tyres)

2012 Podium: Hamilton (Mc Laren) – 2° Vettel and 3° Alonso - Fastest lap: Vettel (Red Bull)

2013 Podium: Vettel (Red Bull) – 2° Grosjean and 3° Webber - Fastest lap: Vettel (Red Bull)

Free practice (and gap between pole position and F.P)
Season: 2012
FP one: 1:38.125 (gap -2.468)
FP two: 1:37.718 (gap -2.061)
FP three: 1:36.490 (gap -0.833)
Pole position 2012: Vettel (Red Bull) 1.35.657

Season: 2013
FP one: 1:38.343 (gap -2.005)
FP two: 1:37.305 (gap -0.967)
FP three: 1:36.733 (gap -0.395)
Pole position 2013: Vettel (Red Bull) 1.36.338

Season 2014: stats after 16 races:
Wins: Hamilton (9); Rosberg (4) and Ricciardo(3)
Podium Hamilton and Rosberg (13); Ricciardo(7) Bottas(5) Vettel(4) Alonso(2) Magnussen, Button Perez and Massa(1)
Pole: Rosberg (8): Hamilton (7) Massa (1)
Fastest Lap: Hamilton (6); Rosberg(5); Vettel, Raikkonen, Perez, Massa and Bottas (1)

Some info for this weekend F1 race :

Friday :
1st practice session : 16.00u - 17.30u CET
2nd practice session : 20.00u - 21.30u CET

Saturday :
3rd practice session : 16.00u - 17.00u CET
Qualifying : 19.00u - 20.00u CET

Sunday :
Race : 21.00u CET

Kind Regards
Shaky - Schumi

Bernie Ecclestone announces F1 teams Marussia and Caterham don't start in Austin

schubert

Di Montezemolo has confirmed that Alonso will leave Ferrari at the end of the year.

The most boring track I've ever seen, even worse than circuit in Valencia...

I miss old school raceways, for example Indianapolis :/

Race result of the Russian GP :

1. Lewis Hamilton - Mercedes GP
2. Nico Rosberg - Mercedes GP
3. Valtteri Bottas - Williams 1:40.896
4. Jenson Button - McLaren
5. Kevin Magnussen - McLaren
6. Fernando Alonso - Ferrari
7. Daniel Ricciardo - Red Bull Racing
8. Sebastian Vettel - Red Bull Racing
9. Kimi Räikkönen - Ferrari
10. Sergio Perez - Force India
11. Felipe Massa - Williams
12. Nico Hulkenberg - Force India
13. Jean-Eric Vergne - Toro Rosso
14. Daniil Kvyat - Toro Rosso + 1 lap
15. Esteban Gutierrez - Sauber + 1 lap
16. Adrian Sutil - Sauber + 1 lap
17. Romain Grosjean - Lotus + 1 lap
18. Pastor Maldonado - Lotus + 1 lap
19. Marcus Ericsson - Caterham + 2 laps
Did Not Finish :
20. Kamui Kobayashi - Caterham
21. Max Chilton - Marussia F1 Team

Fastest Lap : Valtteri Bottas - 1:40.896
Pitstop Jean-Eric Vernge : 1 ( lap 23 )
Bat 2 Teams : Kevin Magnussen > Daniil Kvyat
Grid Pos. Esteban Guttierrez : 15th place


Hamilton takes commanding Sochi win :
Lewis Hamilton claimed a dominant victory in the inaugural Russian Grand Prix at Sochi Autodrom, as Mercedes secured its first Constructors' title with three races to spare. Nico Rosberg recovered from a disastrous opening lap to follow his team-mate home, while Williams driver Valtteri Bottas completed the podium. Although Hamilton made a smooth start as the lights went out, Rosberg tucked in behind and was close enough to attempt a move under braking for the tight second corner. The German succeeded in getting past, but he locked up both front tyres and took the run-off area in doing so. Before Rosberg could think about handing the place back, he reported massive front-end vibrations and had no choice but to pit for new rubber. Hamilton thus reclaimed his lead, with Bottas holding second and McLaren's Jenson Button up to third. Bottas was able to stay within a couple of seconds of Hamilton over the first handful of laps, but he had no answer when Hamilton decided to up his pace in search of a comfortable lead before the pit-stop window. While Hamilton continued to pull away up front, the battle behind was far from over, with Rosberg, charging back through on his differing strategy, overtaking Bottas into Turn 2 shortly after the Finn had made his stop. Williams informed Bottas that it expected Rosberg to pit again on his ageing tyres, but the latter held on to ensure that Mercedes claimed its maiden title in the best possible fashion – a ninth one-two result of the campaign behind Hamilton, who extends his championship lead to 17 points with three rounds remaining. It marks the first non-Red Bull title since 2009, when Brawn GP – later bought out by Mercedes – triumphed. Behind Bottas, McLaren surged ahead of Force India in the battle for fifth position in the teams' standings courtesy of a large haul from Button and Kevin Magnussen, who recovered well from his gearbox penalty. Fernando Alonso put his Ferrari ahead of Red Bull pairing Daniel Ricciardo and Sebastian Vettel with a determined drive, while team-mate Kimi Räikkönen and Force India's Sergio Pérez completed the top 10. Felipe Massa narrowly missed out on the final point after adopting an aggressive two-stop plan, a response to the Williams man's elimination from the first qualifying phase 24 hours ago, which saw him start back in 18th. Nico Hülkenberg followed in the second Force India, while home driver Daniil Kvyat tumbled down the order after a poor first lap and ultimately crossed the line in 14th, behind Toro Rosso team-mate Jean-Éric Vergne. Esteban Gutiérrez beat fellow Sauber driver Adrian Sutil, after the German was tipped into a spin by Romain Grosjean. Grosjean was handed a stop/go, but still finished ahead of Lotus team-mate Pastor Maldonado. Marcus Ericsson was the last of the finishers, after Caterham retired the sister machine of Kamui Kobayashi. The sole Marussia of Max Chilton was the other retirement due to a suspected suspension issue. Prior to the race, all drivers stood at the front of the grid to show support for the Briton's injured team-mate, Jules Bianchi

CONSTRUCTORS CHAMPIONSHIP AFTER 16 RACES :

1. Mercedes 565 points 2014 WORLD CHAMPIONS
2. Red Bull 342 points
3. Williams 216 points
4. Ferrari 188 points
5. McLaren 143 points
6. Force India 123 points
7. Toro Rosso 29 points
8. Lotus 8 points
9. Marussia 2 points

DRIVERS CHAMPIONSHIP AFTER 16 RACES :

1. L. Hamilton GBR Mercedes 291 points
2. N. Rosberg GER Mercedes 274 points
3. D. Ricciardo AUS Red Bull 199 points
4. V. Bottas FIN Williams 145 points
5. S. Vettel GER Red Bull 143 points
6. F. Alonso ESP Ferrari 141 points
7. J. Button GBR McLaren 94 points
8. N. Hulkenberg GER Force India 76 points
9. F. Massa BRA Williams 71 points
10. K. Magnussen DEN McLaren 49 points
11. S. Perez MEX Force India & K. Raikkonen FIN Ferrari 47 points
12. J. E. Vergne FRA Toro Rosso 21 points
13. R. Grosjean FRA Lotus & D. Kvyat RUS Toro Rosso 8 points
14. J. Bianchi FRA Marussia 2 points

Result of the qualifying :
1. Lewis Hamilton - Mercedes GP 1:38.513
2. Nico Rosberg - Mercedes GP 1:38.713 +0.200
3. Valtteri Bottas - Williams 1:38.920 +0.407
4. Jenson Button - McLaren 1:39.121 +0.608
5. Daniil Kvyat - Toro Rosso 1:39.277 +0.764
6. Kevin Magnussen - McLaren 1:39.629 +1.116
7. Daniel Ricciardo - Red Bull Racing 1:39.635 +1.122
8. Fernando Alonso - Ferrari 1:39.709 +1.196
9. Kimi Räikkönen - Ferrari 1:39.771 +1.258
10. Jean-Eric Vergne - Toro Rosso 1:40.020 +1.507
Q2
11. Sebastian Vettel - Red Bull Racing 1:40.052 +1.539
12. Nico Hulkenberg - Force India 1:40.058 +1.545
13. Sergio Perez - Force - India 1:40.163 +1.650
14. Esteban Gutierrez - Sauber 1:40.536 +2.023
15. Adrian Sutil - Sauber 1:40.984 +2.471
16. Romain Grosjean - Lotus 1:41.397 +2.884
Q1
17. Marcus Ericsson - Caterham 1:42.648 +4.135
18. Felipe Massa - Williams 1:43.064 +4.551
19. Kamui Kobayashi - Caterham 1:43.166 +4.653
20. Pastor Maldonado - Lotus 1:43.205 +4.692
21. Max Chilton - Marussia F1 Team 1:43.649 +5.136

Qualifying Time : 1:38.513
Pole : Lewis Hamilton
Team Bat. : Nico Hulkenberg > Sergio Perez
Grid Pos. D.Kvyat : 5th place


Hamilton on pole for inaugural Russian GP :
Lewis Hamilton claimed pole position for the inaugural Russian Grand Prix at Sochi Autodrom, getting the better of Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg and Williams driver Valtteri Bottas, who made a costly error. Hamilton, who had controlled practice and the previous two qualifying phases, set a 1:38.513 in Q3 to finish two tenths clear of Rosberg. Bottas had been fastest of all through the first two sectors of his final lap, but he slid wide at the final corner and had to settle for third. Jenson Button put McLaren on the second row, ahead of home driver Daniil Kvyat, who charged to a personal best fifth in his Toro Rosso. Kevin Magnussen had qualified sixth in the second McLaren, but he drops five places for his gearbox change. Daniel Ricciardo was the lead Red Bull after team-mate Sebastian Vettel failed to progress from Q2, with Ferrari drivers Fernando Alonso and Kimi Räikkönen and the Toro Rosso of Jean-Éric Vergne completing the top 10. Vettel classified 11th in the second segment, ahead of Force India pairing Nico Hülkenberg and Sergio Pérez. Hülkenberg, however, is another to lose five grid positions post-qualifying for a gearbox swap of his own. Esteban Gutiérrez bounced back from his FP3 difficulties to out-qualify Sauber team-mate Adrian Sutil, while Lotus driver Romain Grosjean was the last of the timed runners in the second qualifying segment. Marcus Ericsson was close to making it through to Q2 with the 17th fastest time, just a tenth adrift of Grosjean, beating Felipe Massa's Williams which suffered a suspected fuel pressure issue. Kamui Kobayashi, Pastor Maldonado and Max Chilton brought up the rear, although Maldonado will start from the back with his penalty.

Kind Regards
Shaky - Schumi

Result of the 3rd practice session :

1. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes GP 1:38.726
2. Nico Rosberg Mercedes GP 1:39.016 +0.290
3. Valtteri Bottas Williams 1:39.097 +0.371
4. Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing 1:39.755 +1.029
5. Felipe Massa Williams 1:39.954 +1.228
6. Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso 1:40.009 +1.283
7. Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 1:40.011 +1.285
8. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1:40.151 +1.425
9. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso 1:40.205 +1.479
10. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing 1:40.338 +1.612
11. Jenson Button McLaren 1:40.355 +1.629
12. Nico Hulkenberg Force India 1:40.669 +1.943
13. Sergio Perez Force India 1:40.699 +1.973
14. Adrian Sutil Sauber 1:41.146 +2.420
15. Esteban Gutierrez Sauber 1:41.520 +2.794
16. Romain Grosjean Lotus 1:41.915 +3.189
17. Kevin Magnussen McLaren 1:42.436 +3.710
18. Marcus Ericsson Caterham 1:43.109 +4.383
19. Kamui Kobayashi Caterham 1:43.975 +5.249
20. Max Chilton Marussia F1 Team 1:44.737 +6.011
21. Pastor Maldonado Lotus : no time

Hamilton stays on top in final practice :
Lewis Hamilton held on to his position at the top of the timesheets during Saturday's final practice session for the Russian Grand Prix at Sochi Autodrom, three tenths clear of Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg. While Rosberg controlled the early Medium-tyre runs, Hamilton again displayed superior pace on the Soft rubber, producing a time of 1:38.726. Hamilton could have lapped even faster, but he lost control of his car under braking for the penultimate corner, only just avoiding the barriers. Rosberg was part of a group of late improvers as Hamilton returned to the pit lane, narrowly beating Williams driver Valtteri Bottas to second place. Over three quarters of a second back, Daniel Ricciardo led Red Bull's charge, with Felipe Massa taking fifth. Home driver Daniil Kvyat finished sixth, ahead of Ferrari duo Kimi Räikkönen and Fernando Alonso, while Toro Rosso team-mate Jean-Éric Vergne and the remaining Red Bull of Sebastian Vettel completed the top 10. After starring on the first day, McLaren endured a more challenging session; Jenson Button wound up over 1.5 seconds off the pace in 11th, and Kevin Magnussen completed just four laps before a car problem struck. Nico Hülkenberg edged out Force India team-mate Sergio Pérez for 12th, while Adrian Sutil finished the best part of half a second ahead of fellow Sauber driver Esteban Gutiérrez after the Mexican's early throttle problems. The final driver to finish ahead of the sidelined Magnussen was Romain Grosjean, whose Lotus team-mate, Pastor Maldonado, finished at the bottom of the order – without a time – as a result of a battery issue. Ahead of Maldonado, Caterham pair Marcus Ericsson and Kamui Kobayashi outpaced the Marussia of Max Chilton, who lost a considerable amount of track time as the team worked to fix a driveshaft problem.

Kind Regards
Shaky - Schumi