Brazilian GP: Bottas outpaces Hamilton by 0.003s in FP3

The Mercedes driver clocked a 1m09.281s to finish just 0.003s clear of teammate Lewis Hamilton at Interlagos.

Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen was 0.045s off the pace in third, with teammate Sebastian Vettel only a further 0.013s adrift in fourth.

Cool and overcast conditions greeted the teams on Saturday, with Ferrari focusing on the supersoft tyres and Mercedes the softs early on.

Raikkonen led the way initially, 0.040s ahead of Vettel, with Hamilton able to get within a couple of tenths.

When attention turned to qualifying simulations, it was Raikkonen who went quickest, but he was soon deposed by Bottas, who inched ahead.

Back came Raikkonen with another improvement, only for Vettel to move ahead by just 0.060s.

Raikkonen shaved another few hundredths to reclaim top spot, only for Bottas to pip him in the closing stages.

Just 0.058s separated the top four drivers, with the fastest sectors split between Hamilton, Vettel and Bottas.

Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo was the closest challenger, leaving it until the final few minutes to pump in the fifth fastest time, 0.963s off the pace.

Fernando Alonso was an impressive sixth for McLaren, with Force India's Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon separated by a 0.035s in sixth and seventh.

Max Verstappen survived a late spin late on, having taken too much of the exit kerb at the final corner, to finish ninth. Carlos Sainz completed the top 10.

Felipe Massa, racing on home soil in F1 for the final time, was 11th quickest, but his last quick lap was scuppered because of Verstappen's spin.

His Williams teammate Lance Stroll failed to complete a timed lap after stopping out on track early in the session, reporting a loss of power. 

Cla	Driver	Chassis	Engine	Laps	Time	Gap
1	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	Mercedes	24	1'09.281
2	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	Mercedes	26	1'09.284	0.003
3	Kimi Raikkonen	Ferrari	Ferrari	20	1'09.326	0.045
4	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	Ferrari	21	1'09.339	0.058
5	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull	TAG	14	1'10.244	0.963
6	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	Honda	15	1'10.288	1.007
7	Sergio Perez	Force India	Mercedes	21	1'10.322	1.041
8	Esteban Ocon	Force India	Mercedes	23	1'10.357	1.076
9	Max Verstappen	Red Bull	TAG	9	1'10.495	1.214
10	Carlos Sainz Jr.	Renault	Renault	23	1'10.599	1.318
11	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren	Honda	21	1'10.637	1.356
12	Felipe Massa	Williams	Mercedes	14	1'10.671	1.390
13	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	Ferrari	19	1'10.721	1.440
14	Nico Hulkenberg	Renault	Renault	18	1'10.743	1.462
15	Romain Grosjean	Haas	Ferrari	20	1'10.762	1.481
16	Pierre Gasly	Toro Rosso	Renault	32	1'10.981	1.700
17	Brendon Hartley	Toro Rosso	Renault	30	1'11.085	1.804
18	Pascal Wehrlein	Sauber	Ferrari	25	1'11.126	1.845
19	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	Ferrari	27	1'11.480	2.199
20	Lance Stroll	Williams	Mercedes	1