Lewis Hamilton completed a practice sweep at the Australian Grand Prix but the Ferrari’s are closing in.
In the usual low-fuel runs before qualifying, it was a punch and counterpunch as Mercedes took the initial lead only for the Scuderia to finally join the party.
Just as Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc had matched Hamilton’s best from Friday though, the world champion responded with a 1m22.292s to finish 0.264s clear of his German rival.
Leclerc was a further two-tenths back in third as a mistake from Valtteri Bottas at Turn 15 left the Finn down in seventh.
In a session where some teams started showing their hands while others waited, Haas sat fourth and fifth with Romain Grosjean ahead of Kevin Magnussen.
Red Bull though only did one flying lap on the soft C4 compound with Pierre Gasly sixth and Max Verstappen ninth.
Indicating that the Milton Keynes outfit likely has much more left to show, Daniil Kvyat was eighth in a Toro Rosso which shares many parts from last year’s RB14.
Daniel Ricciardo completed the top 10 for Renault, just 0.042s clear of teammate Nico Hulkenberg in 11th.
Also looking strong is Alfa Romeo as Antonio Giovinazzi sat 12th, while Kimi Raikkonen struggled with traffic leaving the Finn down in 17th as a result.
Carlos Sainz was a steady 13th for McLaren, just ahead of Racing Point’s Sergio Perez as the battle lines are drawn in the lower half of the midfield.
Indeed, the battle to make it out of Q1 will likely include both those teams and Alex Albon, as the rookie continues to get upto speed in 15th.
Williams remain at the back of the field but George Russell was a little closer moving 1.4s behind the next best car in 19th and over 0.6s clear of teammate Robert Kubica.
The Pole’s session was compromised, however, by hitting the wall on the entrance to the pit-lane and damaging the floor.
Full results from Practice 3 can be seen below:
