Hamilton on form in Russia

Lewis Hamilton finished fastest ahead of Nico Rosberg in the final practice session before qualifying for the Russian Grand Prix.

The Mercedes team look in imperious form as they finished 0.6s ahead of Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel, with Hamilton edging out Rosberg.

It looks like a straight fight between the two rivals for pole this afternoon, with Hamilton desperate to get his season back on track.

The 31-year-old has faced a lot of criticism for his attitude so far this season, while Rosberg has raced into a 36-point lead in the championship.

Including the last three races of 2015, Rosberg has won six in a row and looks in supreme form.

Hamilton has come back against Rosberg before and is still favourite to lift a fourth world title this season, but whether he has the same hunger remains a key question.

Meanwhile, Ferrari’s season goes from bad to worse with news Vettel faces a five-place grid penalty.

The Italian team have had a woeful start with reliability problems and tactical blunders ruining their opening three races, which they could have won.

Kimi Raikkonen is charged with challenging Mercedes this weekend, and fending off the improving Red Bull of Daniel Ricciardo, while Vettel fights his way through.

Ferrari need a positive result this weekend to give them some momentum heading into the European season.

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