Sebastian Vettel faster than Lewis Hamilton in Russian Grand Prix final practice
Sebastian Vettel increased the pressure on championship rival Lewis Hamilton after he clocked the fastest time in final practice for the Russian Grand Prix.
Hamilton conceded on Friday night that Vettel holds the advantage at the Sochi Autodrum after an impressive display from the German and his resurgent Ferrari team.
Kimi Raikkonen was fastest in opening practice before Vettel topped the timesheets in the day's second running.
And Vettel's best effort of one minute and 34.001 seconds on Saturday morning in the third and concluding practice session saw him finish comfortably ahead of Raikkonen with Valtteri Bottas third and his Mercedes team-mate Hamilton only fourth.
Indeed Hamilton, who trails Vettel by seven points in the championship, was more than half-a-second adrift of his title rival at a circuit which has played to Mercedes' strengths in previous years.
Hamilton has won twice here, while his Mercedes team has led every lap of each of the three races staged at the site of the venue for the 2014 Winter Olympics.
But it is Vettel, the four-time champion, who will now be the favourite to capture his first pole position of the year in qualifying later on Saturday.
Max Verstappen finished fifth for Red Bull with Felipe Massa sixth and Daniel Ricciardo seventh. Fernando Alonso was 14th in the order.
British driver Jolyon Palmer is in need of a strong performance this weekend, but he failed to complete a single timed lap on Saturday.
Palmer's Renault team worked through the night to change his chassis following an exhaust issue.
But there were further dramas in practice as he limped back to the pits reporting a lack of power. Renault confirmed they will now have to change his engine before qualifying.
