F1-EL3: Mercedes keeps control with Rosberg in Melbourne

The final free practice session for the Australian Grand Prix was held in the dry despite threatening clouds during the first minutes. Mercedes remained at the top of the timesheet, whether with medium tires or soft compounds. Lewis Hamilton having only signed the fourth time after missing his flying lap, it was Nico Rosberg who set the new benchmark with a lap completed in 1'29"375 with more than a second ahead of Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso. Daniel Ricciardo hoist first Red Bull in fifth row, his teammate Sebastian Vettel having also failed in his test on soft tires following numerous setbacks. The four-time world champion had to settle for 12th place.

Force India will also be one to watch as evidenced by the sixth time of Nico Hulkenberg performed in front of Kimi Räikkönen and Kevin Magnussen who was the most diligent of the session with 22 laps completed. Sergio Pérez and Felipe Massa are responsible for completing the top ten, Williams having achieved promising performances with medium tires. However, Valtteri Bottas will receive a penalty of five places on the grid since his team must replace its gearbox. The Finn is not the only one in this case since Esteban Gutiérrez is in the same situation. Daniil Kvyat also stands out by finishing in 11th place while his teammate Jean-Éric Vergne is only 13th ahead of Jules Bianchi and Adrian Sutil.

The Caterhams and the Marussias are unsurprisingly behind, but Lotus still cannot take off from the back of the grid. The last hour of testing proved particularly worrying for the Grove team since Romain Grosjean was unable to complete a single flying lap due to mechanical problems while Pastor Maldonado was only able to set the 18th time before stopping on the track during the last minute of practice.

Qualifying will be contested from 7 a.m. French time where there is a risk of rain. The session will be followed live on AUTOhebdo.fr.