Vettel on pole in first Ferrari lock-out for nine years
Bottas 3rd, Hamilton 4th
Palmer crashes out in Q1
Sunday's race coverage from 11:30 BST
I compared Mercedes to a cheetah and Ferrari to a pronghorn antelope in my opening entry. If you could compare any team to any animal, what would it be and why?
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Image source, Rex FeaturesKimi Raikkonen, on ultrasofts, goes quickest with a 1:35.610. His Ferrari team-mate Sebastian Vettel is second quickest, two tenths off Raikkonen.
Valtteri Bottas has a time on the board but it is far from a representative one as he warms up the ultrasoft tyres with a 1:50.
No time yet for Lewis Hamilton.
Not for the first time this weekend someone has spun on the track. It's the Toro Rosso of Daniil Kvyat, who lost control coming out of Turn 15
Image source, Getty Images
Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer
There have been some new instructions issued to the drivers overnight, to do with track manners. The first revolves around Turns Two/Three (effectively the first chicane). Drivers often use the run-off here if they misjudge their braking at the end of the long pit straight and there is always an issue about how they rejoin the track. Two orange polystyrene blocks have been added there and drivers have to go between them before rejoining the track safely.
In addition, if drivers are trying to create space between them and a car in front by driving slowly before starting a quick lap, they cannot do so in Turns 12 and 13 - the kink in the braking zone at the end of the back straight and the subsequent right-hander. This is because the area is blind and a very difficult section. Any driver found slowing unnecessarily there will be reported to the stewards for potentially dangerous driving.
Daniil Kvyat gets things going on his home circuit with the first time of the day - a 1:38.373. He set that on supersofts.
Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer
Team orders has been the talk of Formula 1 since the Bahrain Grand Prix, where Mercedes took rather too long to realise they needed to get Valtteri Bottas out of Lewis Hamilton’s way if they were to challenge Sebastian Vettel for victory. Team boss Toto Wolff admitted he was still wrestling with the situation. “After the third race you can’t have a number one and two,” he said. “The dynamics worked the last three years, two drivers pushing each other.”
He admitted that Mercedes could have reacted “a bit quicker” to the unfolding events in Bahrain, but added: “We are all world champions in hindsight. We will learn; nevertheless, it is a tricky situation to ask a driver to give up place because he is struggling with his equipment.” However, he did allow that, in a similar situation, where one driver was clearly struggling, team orders may well come into play again.
Mercedes non-executive chairman Niki Lauda seems puzzled by the Russian matryoshka doll...
Image source, ReutersSebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen are just chilling in the Ferrari garage. They are in no rush to head out.
The same cannot be said about Lewis Hamilton. He's out on track now.
Image source, ReutersAndrew Benson
Chief F1 writer
It is already turning into another difficult weekend in an already trying season for McLaren and Honda. After a plague of problems with the turbo-related part of the hybrid system, the MGU-H, in Bahrain, this time it was the MGU-K, attached to the rear axle that caused a problem. And again it was Stoffel Vandoorne who was hit. The car ground to a halt at the end of first practice, he needed an engine change. That meant a fifth MGU-K and turbo already - and a 15-place grid penalty, because teams can only use four of each engine part all season.
“We just have to move on and make the most out of the rest of the weekend,” the Belgian he said stoically. “This is the way it is. There is nothing much we can do about it and hopefully some improvements will come soon.”
Team-mate Fernando Alonso’s car at least kept going and he was 12th fastest, but not optimistic about the weekend because of the underpowered Honda engine on a track where power is more important on lap time than all but three tracks all year. “The car is the same as Bahrain so still a lot of room to improve,” the Spaniard said. “This is the fourth-biggest power effect circuit on the championship so we do not expect miracles here.”
First out of the traps is Jolyon Palmer in the Renault. The Briton is out on softs.
McLaren send their two drivers out soon after with the supersofts bolted on their cars.
One hour of final practice is under way.
Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer
While Mercedes in general were struggling for one-lap pace on Friday, Lewis Hamilton was clearly in worse shape than team-mate Valtteri Bottas. The three-time world champion was not only slower than the Finn in both sessions, but was clearly struggling all day, missing corners, running wide, struggling to get laps together, and more than a second off Bottas on average long-run pace, too.
Sebastian Vettel said he felt the Mercedes might have been sandbagging - disguising their true pace - but Hamilton rejected that. “We never sandbag,” he said. “There is no benefit to sandbagging. Ever. We are trying to get the car to optimum balance-wise and today has generally been a tricky day. The Ferrari is definitely quickest as they have been all year so far and we will work to try to pick up some pace tomorrow. If we can get out tyres working properly I think we can be closer and similar.”
Meanwhile, Tom Clarkson has been giving a behind-the-scenes tour of the paddock in Sochi.
Don't forget to listen to more from Tom on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra throughout final practice, witch commentary available now.
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Image source, .Go on then, have a go at predicting who the top three drivers in qualifying will be.
Based on what we've seen in practice, this will be the hardest one to predict so far this season.
Breakfast has just been served at Toro Rosso, where Daniil Kvyat has made a round of brews for everyone.
Need to get him over to our office. Plenty of people here who shirk their tea-making responsibilities.
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It is once again a beautiful day in Sochi. Warm with clear blue skies and minimal wind.
Lovely stuff.