Mercedes' Nico Rosberg fastest ahead of Singapore GP

Omnisports

September 17, 2016 10:56 AM

Max Verstappen appears likely to challenge Nico Rosberg for pole position at the Singapore Grand Prix.

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Nico Rosberg appears to be the narrow favourite to claim pole position for the Singapore Grand Prix after setting the fastest lap time in the final free practice session on Saturday, although he could face stiff competition from Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton and the Red Bull of Max Verstappen.

German Rosberg, two points behind world champion Hamilton in the drivers' standings, topped the timesheets with a lap of 1 minute, 44.352 seconds as twilight descended on the Marina Bay Street Circuit.

Hamilton (1:45.806) was only eighth fastest, undoing the good work of a blistering first sector on his flying lap when he locked up on ultrasoft tyres.

That left Verstappen, who appears the chief obstacle to Mercedes claiming a one-two on the front row of the grid when night-time qualifying takes place later on Saturday, to set the second quickest lap, just 0.059 secs behind Rosberg.

Ferrari are also likely to have their say, with Kimi Raikkonen (1:44.860) and Sebastian Vettel (1:45.104) third and fifth fastest, sandwiching Verstappen's Red Bull colleague Daniel Ricciardo (1:44.903) in the classification.

The red flag came out early in the session when Manor's Pascal Wehrlein struck a wall and removed a section of his rear wing.

Another unusual obstacle then presented itself, as Verstappen narrowly avoided colliding with a large lizard as it made its way across the track.

Romain Grosjean meanwhile continued to express his dissatisfaction with Haas.

"This is the worst car I have driven for a long, long time," he said after clocking the 18th fastest lap of FP3.

Omnisports

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