Valtteri Bottas headed the time charts in both sessions at the Sochi Autodrom on Friday, but it was Hamilton’s turn to lay down an ominous marker ahead of qualifying.
The six-time world champion, who could match Michael Schumacher’s victory record of 91 on Sunday, finished 0.776 seconds clear of Bottas with McLaren’s Carlos Sainz in third.
CLASSIFICATION: END OF FP3 ⏱️
Hamilton on top in final practice session
P3 for Sainz and P4 for Ocon as McLaren and Renault impress again #RussianGP 🇷🇺 #F1 pic.twitter.com/vH0zZgERyk— Formula 1 (@F1) September 26, 2020
Hamilton has won four of the six times the race has been staged on the site of the venue for the 2014 Winter Olympic Games.
And the 35-year-old Englishman will be boosted by his display here as he goes in search of win number five on Russian soil, and more importantly, Schumacher’s all-time tally.
Esteban Ocon finished fourth for Renault ahead of Racing Point’s Sergio Perez with Red Bull driver Max Verstappen sixth and Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel seventh.
Practice for the #RussianGP = ✅
Next up... Quali! 👊 pic.twitter.com/ADAZlt5q5S— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) September 26, 2020
British driver Lando Norris finished last in his McLaren, 2.7 seconds behind Hamilton.
Qualifying for the 10th round of the campaign gets under way at 3pm local time.
