Lewis Hamilton continues to set pace ahead of Spanish Grand Prix as Brendon Hartley suffers 160mph crash

On top | Lewis Hamilton holds a four-point championship lead over Sebastian Vettel
AFP/Getty Images
Philip Duncan12 May 2018

Lewis Hamilton posted a record-breaking lap in final practice for the Spanish Grand Prix as New Zealander Brendon Hartley crashed out at 160mph.

Hamilton, who holds a four-point championship lead over Sebastian Vettel, ended Friday's final session at the opening leg of the European season on top of the time sheets.

And the 33-year-old defending champion led the way once more on Saturday morning with a blistering effort of one minute and 17.281 seconds.

Hamilton has not been on pole position since the opening round in Australia, but he will head into qualifying later on today as favourite to secure the front slot on the grid.

Hamilton edged out his team-mate Valtteri Bottas by just 0.013 seconds with Mercedes appearing to hold the edge over Ferrari at a circuit where they have performed well in recent seasons.

Vettel was third in the order, a quarter-of-a-second down on Hamilton, with the German's Ferrari team-mate Kimi Raikkonen fourth.

Getty Images

The one-hour session was brought to a premature end after Hartley crashed out in the closing moments.

The 28-year-old lost control of his car on entry to the high-speed Turn 9, and while he reported he was unhurt in the smash, he appeared to be sporting a limp as he walked away from the incident.

He was taken away in the medical car for precautionary checks.

Hartley sustained hefty damage to the rear of his Toro Rosso and it is highly unlikely his team will be able to turn it around in time for qualifying.

Daniel Ricciardo placed fifth, 0.700 sec down, with Max Verstappen only 12th in the sister Red Bull after he suffered an electrical issue.

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