Sebastian Vettel Fastest After Final Practice At Malaysia

Reigning World Champion Sebastian Vettel has ended the final practice session for the Malaysian Grand Prix fastest overall, ahead of the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton. Adrian Sutil impressed many to finish 3rd, as Force India continue to thwart their rivals. The tyres once again were the major factor of the session, which remained dry.

The third and final practice session of the weekend began in scorching weather conditions, as Jules Bianchi became the first of many drivers to instantly take to the track once the session began. Despite the majority of the field only completing one installation lap, Mark Webber was one of the few who decided to continue circulating early on as the Australian driver set the first timed lap of the day with a 01:44.486. However, with Red Bull carrying out their belated race simulation work, that time was instantly thwarted by the Caterham duo.

With the Malaysian Grand Prix an extremely important race for Caterham, it was unsurprising to see the duo of Charles Pic and Giedo van der Garde trade fastest times at the top of the timing sheets early on. Giedo van der Garde finally worked his way down to a 01:40.900, before the Lotus of Kimi Raikkonen stormed to the top with a 01:38.474. Nico Rosberg was quick to displace the 2007 World Champion at the top, before the Force India of Adrian Sutil continued his impressive return to the sport with 01:37.933 to rise to the top.

The Marussia duo of Max Chilton and Jules Bianchi became the first two drivers to switch to the medium tyre compound, as Lewis Hamilton asserted his authority over proceedings with a 01:37.527. Nico Rosberg returned to the top as the session progressed with a 01:36.949, as Jenson Button slotted into 2nd position for McLaren. Lewis Hamilton was quick to return to the top for Mercedes, however, as the teams and drivers continued their preparations for the all-important qualifying hour.

As the session entered its closing stages, many drivers returned to the Sepang International Circuit to complete their final runs of the session. Sebastian Vettel managed to rise to the top for Red Bull with a 01:36.435, however uncertainty still surrounded the Pirelli tyres ahead of the qualifying session. Sergio Perez utterly destroyed his front tyres after an almighty lock-up during the final minutes, as McLaren continued to struggle within the midfield.

With Pirelli’s hard and medium tyre compounds still keeping everyone guessing within the Formula 1 paddock, many are still unsure who will reap the rewards during the all-important qualifying hour later in the day. Rain still remains a threat at the Sepang International Circuit, as the drivers and teams now crunch the numbers prior to qualifying.

Pos Driver                Team                  Time        Gap      Laps
 1. Sebastian Vettel      Red Bull-Renault      1m36.435              20
 2. Lewis Hamilton        Mercedes              1m36.568s  + 0.133s   17
 3. Adrian Sutil          Force India-Mercedes  1m36.588s  + 0.153s   19
 4. Mark Webber           Red Bull-Renault      1m36.613s  + 0.178s   20
 5. Kimi Raikkonen        Lotus-Renault         1m36.806s  + 0.371s   19
 6. Paul di Resta         Force India-Mercedes  1m36.807s  + 0.372s   18
 7. Jenson Button         McLaren-Mercedes      1m36.822s  + 0.387s   16
 8. Felipe Massa          Ferrari               1m36.946s  + 0.511s   14
 9. Nico Rosberg          Mercedes              1m36.949s  + 0.514s   24
10. Fernando Alonso       Ferrari               1m37.302s  + 0.867s   14
11. Pastor Maldonado      Williams-Renault      1m37.359s  + 0.924s   11
12. Sergio Perez          McLaren-Mercedes      1m37.538s  + 1.103s   12
13. Nico Hulkenberg       Sauber-Ferrari        1m37.6$5s  + 1.250s   23
14. Romain Grosjean       Lotus Renault         1m37.690s  + 1.255s   14
15. Valtteri Bottas       Williams-Renault      1m37.936s  + 1.501s   16
16. Esteban Gutierrez     Sauber-Ferrari        1m38.294s  + 1.859s   17
17. Jean-Eric Vergne      Toro Rosso-Ferrari    1m38.376s  + 1.941s   16
18. Daniel Ricciardo      Toro Rosso-Ferrari    1m38.425s  + 1.990s   15
19. Charles Pic           Caterham-Renault      1m38.995s  + 2.560s   18
20. Jules Bianchi         Marussia-Cosworth     1m39.717s  + 3.282s   21
21. Giedo van der Garde   Caterham-Renault      1m40.209s  + 3.774s   18
22. Max Chilton           Marussia-Cosworth     1m40.495s  + 4.060s   18

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