Nico Rosberg of Mercedes topped final practice for Sunday's Singapore Grand Prix with team-mate and championship leader Lewis Hamilton struggling once more.

Rosberg set a quickest time of 1 minute 44.352 seconds on Saturday at the 5.065-kilometre Marina Bay street circuit, with Hamilton down the field in eighth. A hydraulics problem hindered Hamilton on Friday and he had to take an escape road when attempting a quick run on Saturday as his chasis scraped the track.

Red Bull's Max Verstappen was second, around six-hundredths behind Rosberg, with Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen third and the other Red Bull of Daniel Ricciardo fourth, dpa reported.

Last year's winner, Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel was fifth with Nico Huelkenburg in Force India and and Daniil Kvyat of Toro Rosso filling the places to Hamilton.

Qualifying is later Saturday and, with six of the eight previous Singapore GPs won from pole, Hamilton will be desperate to solve his car issues to reach the top of the grid. Rosberg has won the last two grands Prix but Hamilton continues to lead the championship by two points from his rival.

Source : QNA