The gap between Nico Rosberg in second and Sebastian Vettel in third is almost 0.7secs, which doesn't bode well for a thrilling qualifying battle between Mercedes and Ferrari. Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton should have quite the tussle though.

That's it for final practice. The top four has a familiar look to it:

HAM, ROS, VET RAI.

Nico Rosberg looked on course for a flyer after a quickest first sector, but his lap is 0.123secs down on Lewis Hamilton.

The Ferraris are clicking into gear though. Sebastian Vettel zips to third with Kimi Raikkonen just behind.

Lewis Hamilton, on the soft option, clocks the quickest time of the weekend. It's a 1:12.070. Can Nico Rosberg respond?

It's gone a bit quiet on track, with most teams getting ready for a run out on the soft tyres in the final 10 minutes.

Daniel Ricciardo is on the softs, and while he shaves a second off his time, he can't threaten the time of Nico Rosberg.

The Red Bull man is above Lewis Hamilton into second though, with Daniil Kvyat fourth. It will be interesting to see whether the Ferraris can get in on that Mercedes-Red Bull sandwich.

Image source, bbc

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner tells the BBC commentators that his team are probably looking at a two-stop scenario come race day. 

And he adds that Daniel Ricciardo's efforts will be focused on the race, with his 10-place grid penalty putting him at a disadvantage.

And to follow on from Andrew's update on the tyres situation there...

Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer at Interlagos

“The debate about the 2017 Formula 1 rules continues between the teams, the FIA and Pirelli. Mercedes prepared a position paper for a meeting of the technical working group earlier this week which expressed concerns about plans to make the cars five seconds a lap faster and questioned whether the tyres would be able to cope with the increased loads.

"But other teams at the meeting rejected Mercedes’ ideas, believing them to be rooted in a desire to retain a competitive advantage. The new rules are therefore going ahead as planned, with wider cars and tyres, changes to the front and rear wings and increased downforce from the underfloor.

"However, there is concern about whether the tyres will be able to cope and there is a push to get data to Pirelli for it to work from as it prepares tyres for 2017, as well as finding a way somehow to get a car for it to test on that simulates aero loads that could increase by as much as 50%.”    

It is something FIA president Jean Todt may have been asked about today.

Not a pristine final practice for Lewis Hamilton so far. After that gear issue, he's now just pirouetted off the track. It's not clear whether that was caused by technicals or his eagerness to get heat into the tyres.  

Lewis Hamilton sits 0.323 secs behind his team-mate Nico Rosberg, with Sebastian Vettel about another half-second further back.

Vettel tells his Ferrari team he felt a surge from the turbo during an upturn in gear - positive feedback for his engineers.

Jenson Button is conspicuous by his on-track absence.

His McLaren is being heavily tinkered with in the garage - no word on whether there's an issue, but it's a frustrating wait for the Briton.

Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton makes a brief appearance at the top of the board, before Nico Rosberg reclaims P1.

Yup, he will. Nico Rosberg comes in at 1:13.753, 0.309secs quicker than Sebastian Vettel.

Lewis Hamilton is back out, with his team saying it was a sensor issue that caused his car to slip into neutral a few minutes ago.

So, while Lewis Hamilton gets the once over from his team, Nico Rosberg is on the road. Will he go top?

A Mercedes is out on track. And now it's back in.

Moments after emerging from the pits Lewis Hamilton comes to a standstill. He suggests it's a gear failure. But with the press of a few buttons he's going again and heading straight back to the garage.

Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer at Interlagos

Image source, AP

“Fernando Alonso inadvertently provided another defining image of McLaren’s season on Friday, when he sat on the barriers, apparently lost in thought, watching the marshals recover his car after the latest Honda engine failure on Friday afternoon.

"This latest visual metaphor - to follow the one of him pushing his broken car back to the pits in Hungary - caused such an impact that the reaction to it had reached Alonso himself by the time he did his TV interviews after the session.

"‘I read already this image quite famous already,’ he said, ‘but I don't know exactly what the people expect when you retire and you are waiting for the motorbike or the safety car to take you back to the garage you need to stay in one place. I didn’t do anything different'.” 

And now Sebastian Vettel goes top with a 1:14.062, making it a Ferrari one-two at the top of the board.

Image source, Getty Images

Max Verstappen has just clocked the second quickest time, 0.710secs behind Kimi Raikkonen.

The Dutchman is in demand, it would seem, with Ferrari supposedly interested in his services.

Red Bull aren't happy, though. Read more here.

Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer at Interlagos

“There are two grid penalties so far this weekend. Daniel Ricciardo has a 10-place penalty for using the new Renault engine. And Williams driver Valtteri Bottas earned a three-place drop when he overtook Felipe Nasr’s Sauber while red flags were shown between Turns Five and Six in second practice, following the engine failure in Fernando Alonso’s McLaren.”