Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel pulls into the pit lane, only to cut back across at the last moment after being told that the plan is to get straight down to work, rather than peel in after an installation lap. "Sorry," replies the German.

Fernando Alonso steps into his car and is buckled in ahead of his first run in this session. The Spaniard suffered his second mechanical retirement in the last three races in Japan, having gone 86 races without one. Will he have better luck this weekend?

It's a beautiful day in Sochi, bright blue skies and glorious sunshine. Perfect conditions, then, for third practice. Let the session begin!

Image source, Mercedes

Mercedes on Twitter:, external Final practice about to kick off here @SochiAutodrom. @LewisHamilton sharing a quick joke with his crew.

Mr Ree, external: These new #F1 tracks are soulless, there's no character to them, they're all too.... Samey.

David Dalton, external: So after missing FP1 and 2, now is my first opportunity to have a look at the Sochi Autodrom Circuit.

David Budd, external: Hamilton will be on the podium alongside Bottas and Rosberg. Williams seem to be the only team that can upset the Mercs.

Lee McKenzie is live on BBC Two and the video console at the top of the page with Jennie Gow and Tom Clarkson in the pit-lane. Ben Edwards and Tony Dodgins are in the commentary box.

Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer in Sochi

"Race director Charlie Whiting has held a meeting with the teams this morning to discuss changes that could be implemented in the context of Jules Bianchi's accident in Japan.

"They are pursuing the idea of the 'virtual safety car', where in the event of a recovery vehicle on track and when race control feels any incident can be cleared relatively quickly and therefore would not normally need a safety car, the F1 cars would have to stay within a certain pre-defined lap time - they have to stay 'positive' on their dashboards.

"There will be stringent penalties for any driver not obeying. But it will not be implemented yet. The rules need to be re-written and the systems have to be implemented in the cars. There will almost certainly be a trial of the new system after first practice at the next race in Austin, Texas."

We have our extra camera streams function working for you across all sessions for this weekend's Russian GP, instead of just qualifying and the race.

You can access the driver tracker, pit lane feed, onboard and live timing via the console at the top of this page.

Ferrari's Fernando Alonso on Twitter:, external #ForzaJules #raceForYou

Image source, Getty Images

All the drivers are wearing the slogan Tous Avec Jules #17 in support of Jules Bianchi. There's some powerful stuff from Lewis Hamilton on the Frenchman and the risks of racing in F1 in his latest BBC Sport column if you've not read it already. You can find it on the F1 pages.

Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer in Sochi

"This race is taking place in an uneasy atmosphere following Jules Bianchi's accident. The teams and the FIA are discussing what changes can be made to procedures to ensure such an incident could not happen again - and this is focusing on taking how much the cars slow during a caution period out of the drivers' hands. Race director Charlie Whiting has said tractor recovery vehicles will be used 'with extreme caution'. And that caution has extended to a decision to lower the pit-lane speed limit here from 80km/h to 60km/h - the same as in Melbourne, Monaco and Singapore."

Image source, Getty Images

Drivers will have spent plenty of time in the simulator - and probably a few hours on a games console - learning the circuit, but nothing beats a cycle round the track to spot the bumps and any potentially tricky kerbs. Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo clearly thinks so.

David Coulthard
BBC F1 co-commentator

Image source, Getty Images

"Sochi looks fantastic. The track goes around all of the various Winter Olympic venues so it looks great. They have done a remarkable job in making sure they have a legacy beyond the Winter Olympics.

"I believe the initial contract is a seven years and if that runs its course then clearly we will be coming here for some time.

"There is a semi-permanent feel to the race track, so it's not a full street circuit like Singapore. So a lot of the permanent facilities here are making it more much comfortable for the teams."

Just spotted BBC co-commentator David Coulthard's ensemble for today and it's a cracker - purple shirt with leaf green trousers. It has to be seen to be believed.

So final practice starts at 09:00 BST and will be available in the video console at the top of the page as well as BBC Two and BBC Radio 5 live sports extra from five minutes before the session starts.

Qualifying follows at 12:00, with the programme kicking off at 11:15 on BBC One and again in the video console above.

Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer in Sochi

Image source, Getty Images

"There's a Disneyland-meets-the-Caucasus feel to the Sochi race track. The Olympic stadiums around which the circuit winds are nestled on a coastal plane between hills on either side of the town. The plane used to be marshland, but it now houses a theme park, complete with rollercoasters and a hotel that is remarkably reminiscent of the Disney palace.

"As for the track itself, it has overtones of unloved Valencia, but the drivers were generally positive. 'It's got a really nice flow to it,' Lewis Hamilton said. 'It's not too bumpy, the corners are challenging - if you can get the lines just perfect you can put together really nice sectors. The tyres are also not falling apart, which they do at other tracks, so it's even more fun because you can do lap after lap and enjoy it.'"

Morning! Everyone ready for a bit of qualifying action? Well you'll have a little longer to wait as we've got one hour of practice for the Russian Grand Prix to get through first before pole position is dished out later on.

Image source, Getty Images

It's been seven years in the making but at last, F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone has got his wish - a Formula 1 race in Russia. Will the new purpose-built circuit, which weaves its way around the Olympic Park that hosted this year's Winter Games, deliver an exciting race? We'll get one step closer to finding out shortly.