SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium -- Kimi Raikkonen put Ferrari at the top of the timesheets during final practice for the Belgian Grand Prix, beating Friday's pace setters Red Bull and Mercedes to the fastest time.
Raikkonen, a four-time winner at Spa-Francorchamps, hooked up a clean lap to move ahead of Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo, who ended up 0.215s shy of the Ferrari driver. Sebastian Vettel finished third as Ferrari turned the top of the timesheets red, but the notable absence of the two Mercedes drivers and Red Bull's Max Verstappen poses more questions than answers ahead of qualifying.
Lewis Hamilton set a hot lap on new super-soft tyres in the closing stages of the session, but with a back-row start hanging over him due to a 55-place grid penalty, his car is set up for race pace and not a qualifying-style lap. He ended up behind Valtteri Bottas, but a telling fastest opening sector hints at the straight-line speed the reigning world champion is hoping to carry into Spa's best overtaking opportunity at Les Combes on Sunday.
Nico Hulkenberg was sixth fastest ahead of the second Mercedes of Nico Rosberg, who could only manage the seventh fastest time of the session. Rosberg's lap appeared to be ruined by traffic in the first sector and his final time was 0.4s off his best effort in the opening practice session of the session, suggesting his true pace will only become apparent in qualifying.
Max Verstappen suffered a gearbox problem during the session, meaning he failed to set a competitive lap time. The gearbox was newly fitted ahead of the session and a change would result in a five-place grid penalty, but team boss Christian Horner said the halt in running was just a precaution.
"It looks to be an electrical issue or a sensor most likely so it was precautionary, we stopped the car and took the box off just to make sure that we had plenty of time to hopefully address it before qualifying," he told Sky Sports.
Asked if a penalty was likely, he added: "No certainly not at the moment. At the moment it's just an investigation, have a look at the sensor and then form a diagnosis from there."
Up until final practice, Verstappen's weekend had been looking promising and his fastest time in second practice on Friday afternoon would still have been enough to put him second, and ahead of Ricciardo, in FP3.
The two Williams drivers returned to the top ten after a disappointing Friday practice and are likely to be vying for positions with the Force Indias, which finished sixth and ninth. Haas remained competitive, with Romain Grosjean sneaking into the top ten, 0.181s ahead of Fernando Alonso in the fastest McLaren.
Pascal Wehrlein again looked quick, hauling his Manor up to 15th place, just behind Kevin Magnussen and ahead of the two Toro Rossos, which are down on power with their year-old Ferrari engines. Both Wehrlein and Magnussen were involved in close shaves with other drivers during the session, which could result in stewards investigations.
Wehrlein came across a slow-moving Esteban Gutierrez at the top of Eau Rouge and had to swerve to avoid the Haas, later calling for the Mexican to be penalised over team radio. Magnussen was accused by Sebastian Vettel of blocking the Ferrari heading through the high-speed Blanchimont, with the four-time champion remonstrating over the radiowaves.
"What an idiot. Did you see that? It's called Free Practice. Free Practice. Who gives a s***?"
Any grid penalties that are doled out will be added to the ones of Hamilton, Alonso and Sauber's Marcus Ericsson for various engine changes this weekend.