Vettel goes fastest on slicks in Australian GP practice

Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel grabbed the fastest time in the final seconds of the third practice session ahead of qualifying for the Australian Formula One Grand Prix here today.

Vettel, bidding for his fifth world title this year, capitalised on racing on slicks in drying track conditions after morning rain.

The German trumped teammate Kimi Raikkonen by a whopping 2.432 seconds as varying track conditions made for differing tyre choices.

Vettel clocked the fastest lap of one minute 26.067 seconds to leapfrog Red Bull's Max Verstappen after the Renault of Carlos Sainz had hit the front on slicks.

Verstappen's teammate Daniel Ricciardo, who was slapped with a three-place grid penalty for a red flag infringement in Friday's second practice, was sixth ahead of the Mercedes pair of Valtteri Bottas and world champion Lewis Hamilton.

At one stage during the slippery track conditions, Hamilton was heard over the team radio to exclaim: "Something wrong" to which the Mercedes crew replied "Stop, stop, stop."