Malaysian GP: Ferrari dominate in final practice as Kimi Raikkonen posts fastest time ahead of Vettel
Formula 1 | September 30, 2017 15:22 ISTIt was a reversal of Friday's second practice when Vettel was quickest ahead of Raikkonen.
It was a reversal of Friday's second practice when Vettel was quickest ahead of Raikkonen.
Malaysia, however, is dropping off the calendar next year due to a massive shortfall in attendance at the Sepang circuit.
On the eve of his 20th birthday, Verstappen was .757 seconds faster than Ricciardo, whose confidence is high following seven podiums in 10 races.
Raikkonen is fifth in the 2017 drivers' standings with 138 points, while Vettel is in the second spot with 235 points, 28 behind leader Hamilton.
Ferrari's Vettel had topped the drivers' standings, but the Mercedes' racer bounced back to clinch the top spot, 28 points ahead of the German driver with six races to go.
After blowing pole position by causing a crash at the Singapore GP two weeks ago, the Ferrari driver threw away a golden chance to regain the championship lead from Lewis Hamilton.
Although he believes that there are five to six years left in his career, the record of Schumacher is nowhere in his mind.
The 63-year old F1 chief said India should have a Grand Prix considering its rapid growth as a nation.
The Briton, who won the Italian Grand Prix last Sunday, is currently standing at the top of the drivers' championship after winnings six out of 13 races this year.
Hamilton's fifth win this season was his 58th overall, having equalled Michael Schumacher's pole position record of 68 in the qualifying race.
Since joining Ferrari, Vettel has won seven races, three in 2015 and four this year while securing 28 podium finishes.
Although Hamilton has won four of 11 races this season so far, and Bottas has won two, Mercedes is experiencing more problems than before.
Kimi Raikkonen finishes in the second spot followed by Mercedes Valtteri Bottas in third and Lewis Hamilton in the fourth spot .
The four-time F1 champion clocked a best lap of 1 minute, 16.276 seconds, while Raikkonen was .168 behind in front of a large contingent of flag-waving Finnish fans.
The Williams team said in a statement that the 36-year-old Massa went to the Formula One medical centre and then Honvedkorhaz hospital on Friday for "precautionary tests" after feeling "unwell and dizzy" during the second practice session.
Vettel leads the championship by just one point over Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton, who struggled with oversteering and could only manage the fifth-best time.
Ferrari's new deal may increase Sauber's chances of holding onto the highly rated Wehrlein, a member of the Mercedes young driver program, for next year.
Red Bull's Max Verstappen was fourth, followed by Hamilton's teammate Valtteri Bottas and Raikkonen's teammate Sebastian Vettel.
The British driver is only one point behind F1 leader Sebastian Vettel ahead of Sunday's Hungarian Grand Prix.
Last year, the 27-year-old had signed a one-year deal to replace suddenly-retired Nico Rosberg as Lewis Hamilton's new teammate at Mercedes for the ongoing season.
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