Practice report
Formula 1 Brazilian GP
Brazilian GP: Bottas outpaces Hamilton by 0.003s in FP3
Valtteri Bottas set the pace in a tight Formula 1 final practice for the Brazilian Grand Prix as the top four were separated by just a fraction of a second.
Lawrence Barretto
Edited: Nov 11, 2017, 2:08 PM
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The Mercedes driver clocked a 1m09.281s to finish just 0.003s clear of teammate Lewis Hamilton at Interlagos.
Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen was 0.045s off the pace in third, with teammate Sebastian Vettel only a further 0.013s adrift in fourth.
Cool and overcast conditions greeted the teams on Saturday, with Ferrari focusing on the supersoft tyres and Mercedes the softs early on.
Raikkonen led the way initially, 0.040s ahead of Vettel, with Hamilton able to get within a couple of tenths.
When attention turned to qualifying simulations, it was Raikkonen who went quickest, but he was soon deposed by Bottas, who inched ahead.
Back came Raikkonen with another improvement, only for Vettel to move ahead by just 0.060s.
Raikkonen shaved another few hundredths to reclaim top spot, only for Bottas to pip him in the closing stages.
Just 0.058s separated the top four drivers, with the fastest sectors split between Hamilton, Vettel and Bottas.
Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo was the closest challenger, leaving it until the final few minutes to pump in the fifth fastest time, 0.963s off the pace.
Fernando Alonso was an impressive sixth for McLaren, with Force India's Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon separated by a 0.035s in sixth and seventh.
Max Verstappen survived a late spin late on, having taken too much of the exit kerb at the final corner, to finish ninth. Carlos Sainz completed the top 10.
Felipe Massa, racing on home soil in F1 for the final time, was 11th quickest, but his last quick lap was scuppered because of Verstappen's spin.
His Williams teammate Lance Stroll failed to complete a timed lap after stopping out on track early in the session, reporting a loss of power.
ClaDriverChassisEngineLapsTimeGap 1 
Valtteri Bottas Mercedes Mercedes 24 1'09.281 2 
Lewis Hamilton Mercedes Mercedes 26 1'09.284 0.003 3 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari Ferrari 20 1'09.326 0.045 4 
Sebastian Vettel Ferrari Ferrari 21 1'09.339 0.058 5 
Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull TAG 14 1'10.244 0.963 6 
Fernando Alonso McLaren Honda 15 1'10.288 1.007 7 
Sergio Perez Force India Mercedes 21 1'10.322 1.041 8 
Esteban Ocon Force India Mercedes 23 1'10.357 1.076 9 
Max Verstappen Red Bull TAG 9 1'10.495 1.214 10 Carlos Sainz Jr. Renault Renault 23 1'10.599 1.318 11 
Stoffel Vandoorne McLaren Honda 21 1'10.637 1.356 12 
Felipe Massa Williams Mercedes 14 1'10.671 1.390 13 
Kevin Magnussen Haas Ferrari 19 1'10.721 1.440 14 Nico Hulkenberg Renault Renault 18 1'10.743 1.462 15 Romain Grosjean Haas Ferrari 20 1'10.762 1.481 16 Pierre Gasly Toro Rosso Renault 32 1'10.981 1.700 17 
Brendon Hartley Toro Rosso Renault 30 1'11.085 1.804 18 Pascal Wehrlein Sauber Ferrari 25 1'11.126 1.845 19 
Marcus Ericsson Sauber Ferrari 27 1'11.480 2.199 20 
Lance Stroll Williams Mercedes 1
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