SILVERSTONE, Great Britain -- Lewis Hamilton just beat Nico Rosberg to the fastest time in final practice for the British Grand Prix as the two Mercedes drivers prepare for a head-to-head battle in qualifying.
The session started damp, but as soon as it was dry enough to set a clean lap, both Mercedes took to the track on soft tyres. Hamilton's first attempt was 0.097s quicker than Mercedes teammate Rosberg before a 17-minute stoppage was induced by Marcus Ericsson crashing on the exit of Stowe.
Ericsson lost the rear of his Sauber on the exit of Stowe, sending his car back across the track and resulting in a hard impact with the tyre barrier near the pit entrance. The force of the impact ripped three wheels off the car and also resulted in his steering wheel pinging off, hitting him in the chest. He walked away from the accident, but the car is unlikely to be fully repaired in the two hours ahead of qualifying.
The session was restarted with just five minutes remaining and both Mercedes returned to the track with a fresh set of soft tyres. Rosberg improved first, becoming the first driver to set a time in the 1:30s this weekend, but Hamilton hit back moments later with a lap 0.063s quicker than his teammate. The Mercedes drivers were half a second clear of Daniel Ricciardo's Red Bull in third place, who was just under a tenth quicker than teammate Max Verstappen.
Sebastian Vettel was over a second off the pace of Hamilton, but another gearbox failure appeared to strike as he crossed the line on his last attempt. After a gearbox issue in Austria and another one during Friday practice this weekend, the issue will be the biggest concern for the team ahead of qualifying.
There was another big gap in the times to Valtteri Bottas in sixth place, 1.832s off Hamilton, and just 0.018s faster than Fernando Alonso in the McLaren. Nico Hulkenberg and Kimi Raikkonen were also within a tenth of Bottas as the fight for the positions outside the top five looks set to be every bit as competitive as the battle for pole between the Mercedes drivers.
Carlos Sainz and Esteban Gutierrez will also fancy their chances of making the top ten in qualifying after finishing ahead of the second McLaren of Jenson Button. Felipe Massa had a session to forget down in 15th, sandwiched between Sergio Perez and Daniil Kvyat, who also finished off the pace of their respective teammates.