Lewis Hamilton made it a hat-trick of practice session fastest times by eclipsing team-mate Nico Rosberg by just 0.047 seconds in final practice for the Hungarian Grand Prix.

Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso had been fastest on the medium Pirelli tyre as Hamilton worked through a low key opening spell on the slower prime compound. However, with his final laps on the tyre Hamilton jumped to top spot with three tenths in hand over the Spaniard.

Hamilton slid to seventh as the first runs on the faster soft compound were completed but the Briton then set fastest times in the first two sectors and a personal best in the final stretch to dislodge Rosberg from P1. The German improved, eventually edging to within five hundredths of a second of his team-mate but he could find no way past.

Behind the Mercedes, Sebastian Vettel was third for Red Bull Racing, four tenths of a second down on Hamilton’s time. Daniel Ricciardo was fourth in the sister Red Bull car on a track, which due to its lack of high-speed straights, plays more to the aerodynamic strengths of the RB10.

Behind them Valtteri Bottas gave lie to his own suggestion that the circuit is not one that will favour Williams by taking fifth place in the session. Alonso eventually finished sixth for Ferrari, with team-mate Kimi Raikkonen seventh.

Kevin Magnussen was eighth for McLaren, with team-mate Jenson Button 12^th, and the final two top 10 places were claimed by Toro Rosso’s Jean-Eric Vergne and Daniil Kvyat.

2014 Hungarian Grand Prix – Free Practice 3 Times
1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:24.048 21
2 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:24.095 0.047 24
3 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing 1:24.455 0.407 16
4 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing 1:24.678 0.630 15
5 Valtteri Bottas Williams 1:24.685 0.637 21
6 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1:24.769 0.721 11
7 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 1:24.818 0.770 19
8 Kevin Magnussen McLaren 1:24.867 0.819 21
9 Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso 1:25.162 1.114 17
10 Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso 1:25.170 1.122 19
11 Felipe Massa Williams 1:25.231 1.183 18
12 Jenson Button McLaren 1:25.468 1.420 14
13 Pastor Maldonado Lotus 1:25.829 1.781 22
14 Romain Grosjean Lotus 1:25.859 1.811 19
15 Adrian Sutil Sauber 1:25.934 1.886 21
16 Esteban Gutierrez Sauber 1:26.023 1.975 23
17 Nico Hulkenberg Force India 1:26.035 1.987 19
18 Sergio Perez Force India 1:26.142 2.094 17
19 Kamui Kobayashi Caterham 1:27.560 3.512 23
20 Max Chilton Marussia 1:28.083 4.035 17
21 Marcus Ericsson Caterham 1:28.605 4.557 22
22 Jules Bianchi Marussia 1:28.821 4.773 14