Sainz crash ends 3rd practice session in Russia

Yet he failed to capitalise in Japan, where Hamilton outmuscled his title rival on his way to a victory that extended his championship lead to 48 points. He has done the first job superlatively having had the best of the entire session, with Hamilton unable to match him.

On a cool day when keep tires up to optimum operating temperatures Valtteri Bottas was able to find enough grip to post the third fastest qualifying time with a lap of 1:37.912.26, eight tenths off Rosberg’s time.

Hamilton challenged for the top spot with an aggressive final lap but ran off track and aborted the attempt.

“Life is not always fair, and nor is F1…I still think we have the best possible engine for us to try and get maximum points for the rest of the year”.

It has been a troubled weekend so far for the defending F1 champ, as Hamilton pulled into the pits with two minutes of qualifying still to go.

The 30-year-old is edging towards his third world title as he sits on top of the standings with a 48-point advantage over team mate Nico Rosberg with five races remaining. Williams is now third in the Constructors’ championship, 129 adrift of second-placed Ferrari.

There were no major issues during the session.

Verstappen’s team-mate Carlos Sainz missed qualifying after a heavy crash in final practice this morning. The driver is in a “positive” condition in hospital and has tweeted to reassure supporters.

Rafa Nadal moved within reach of his first hardcourt title in nearly two years by extracting a modicum of revenge on new Italian foe Fabio Fognini with a 7-5 6-3 win in their China Open semi-final on Saturday.

“Lewis didn’t quite match that time, but will start from P2 to make it an all-Mercedes front row”.

An update on Sainz was also released in this session. “He is fully conscious, which he was also immediately after the accident”.

He added he was “perfectly happy with the balance” of his vehicle and it was “not such a bad race” to start in second. But if the result were the same I wouldn’t mind! “There are times when this team didn’t have much success”, he said. He then slammed into the nearside wall, destroying the front left of his auto, before careering head-on into the tyre barrier still at high speed.

His team said he was uninjured, but he is now under medical observation at a hospital and will need permission from doctors to race on Sunday. Given the scale of the incident, this appears to be unlikely. Raikkonen, Grosjean, Pastor Maldonado, Sauber’s Felipe Nasr and Marussia’s Will Stevens and Roberto Merhi did not make any runs in the session. Jenson Button in contrast, with contract freshly signed, celebrated with a decent 13th in the recalcitrant McLaren, well ahead of team-mate Fernando Alonso.

“I think it would be cool to see a lot more of the racing like I had with Nico (Rosberg) in Bahrain last season? it was like a karting race!” said Hamilton.