Bahrain F1: Hamilton edges Vettel in 3rd practice

Lewis Hamilton

Defending World Champion Lewis Hamilton edged Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel for the quickest time in the third and final Formula 1 practice session for the Bahrain Grand Prix.

The reigning world champion clocked a 1m34.599s – the fastest time of the weekend so far – on the soft tire to finish just 0.069s clear of Vettel.

The other Mercedes of Nico Rosberg was third 0.369s off the pace with Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen fourth.

Can Ferrari beat Mercedes for pole? Stay tuned.

Raikkonen led a Ferrari 1-2 after the medium tire runs, with Ferrari teammate Vettel 0.245s back in second – but the order changed significantly when drivers changed to the soft tires with 13 minutes for their final qualifying simulations.

Williams drivers Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa were fifth and sixth respectively, ahead of the Lotus of Pastor Maldonado.

Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo was eighth, with Force India's Nico Hulkenberg and Sauber's Felipe Nasr completing the top 10.

Results: