F1: Rosberg back on top in final practice

Nico Rosberg was 0.601s faster than Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton in third practice for the 2014 Formula 1 German Grand Prix.

Fernando Alonso was third quickest for Ferrari.

Both Mercedes went out on simulated qualifying runs in the closing minutes but Hamilton's lap was scrappier than Rosberg's.

Most teams focused on longer runs with higher fuel loads for the majority of the session, before sending their drivers out for simulated qualifying runs on the super-soft tyres in the final 10 minutes.

Williams was chasing lap time early in the session, which put Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa at the top of the timesheets for the first half hour until Kimi Raikkonen, the first driver to go out on the super-soft tyres, usurped them.

Times then tumbled in the final minutes as Mercedes returned to its customary 1-2 position.

Alonso had a spin at Turn 8 after overshooting the apex and running wide over the exit kerb, but his super-soft run was flawlessly committed and he closed out the session third fastest, 0.60s off Rosberg's benchmark.

Team-mate Raikkonen did not improve on the 1m18.842s he set on his first super-soft run, eighth quickest overall.

Bottas had outpaced Massa on the longer runs, but in qualifying trim the Brazilian had the edge over his team-mate and they ended the session fourth and fifth just off Alonso's pace.

It was Jenson Button's turn to test McLaren's new rear wing, but he struggled with locking brakes and ended the session slower than team-mate Kevin Magnussen, who was sixth fastest.

Daniel Ricciardo and Sebastian Vettel were fighting their cars throughout and the Red Bull drivers could do no better than seventh and ninth.