Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen set the
pace in final practice at the Belgian Grand Prix as the Mercedes drivers
were only fifth and seventh.
Lewis Hamilton was the fastest of
the silver cars, despite a mistake-strewn final lap on a weekend when
penalties mean he will start from the back.
Team-mate Nico Rosberg, who has a golden opportunity to close the title race deficit, was 0.107secs slower.
Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo was second fastest, followed by Sebastian Vettel.
Mercedes
have so far not shown their true pace on an unusual weekend that has
been dominated by Hamilton's engine penalties - which amount to 55
places following three engine changes, meaning he will start right at
the back - and problems with tyre choices caused by the unexpected heat.
Spa-Francorchamps is more usually associated with unpredictable and
often wet weather, even in August, but this weekend has been baking,
with temperatures in the low 30Cs.
That means the tyres are
suffering - a problem exacerbated by the fact that greater freedom for
the teams in tyre choices than previously this year has meant they have
leaned towards softer tyres.
The super-soft tyre has never been brought to Spa before, because of the demands of its many long, high-speed corners.
But Ferrari picked seven sets of the tyre out of their available 13, and only one of the more durable medium.
Mercedes have gone the other way, splitting their choices much more evenly between the super-soft, soft and medium.
That
meant, with only four sets of the super-soft available, Mercedes did
not use it at all until the final minutes of the session.
It was
not immediately clear why Rosberg was 0.768secs off Raikkonen's pace,
but Hamilton had a lift in the fast double-left hander at Pouhon and
then made mistakes at flat-out Blanchimont and on the entry to the final
chicane.
Mercedes executive director (technical) Paddy Lowe told
BBC Sport that the team were likely to give Hamilton only the least
possible running in qualifying - probably meaning only one run in the
first session.
"We'll probably just run the minimum necessary in
qualifying," Lowe said. "We want to give Lewis the strongest possible
race from the back and with the maximum number of tyres."
Rosberg,
despite his lack of headline pace in the final practice session, is
expected to take pole, and there will be a tight battle between Red Bull
and Ferrari for best of the rest.
Ricciardo's team-mate Max
Verstappen, who was fastest on Friday afternoon, did only two laps on
Saturday before being hit by a gearbox problem.
Hamilton is not the only driver with engine penalties.
McLaren's
Fernando Alonso, who was 11th fastest and two places ahead of team-mate
Jenson Button in the session, has a 35-place penalty and Sauber's
Marcus Ericsson 10 places.
Saturday, August 27, 2016
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Belgian Grand Prix: Kimi Raikkonen impresses in third practice
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