A gearbox leak prevented Nico Rosberg putting down a true qualifying marker in third practice for the British Grand Prix.

Rosberg shook off hydraulic issues on Saturday to take both FP1 and FP2, but the hat-trick eluded him, as Mercedes colleague Lewis Hamilton took the honours.

The German's issue late in the hour-long session had looked as though it would prevent him from any qualifying simulation at all, but he emerged with a few minutes remaining, putting in a time over half a second down on the world championship leader.

Hamilton had also gone quickest in the session's earlier long runs as he looks for a third win on home tarmac.

Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen remain Mercedes closest challengers, but Raikkonen could only get within seven tenths of Hamilton's time, with four-time champion Vettel a second off the Brit.

High winds caught out a huge number of drivers at turn nine, Copse.

With a string of cars exceeding track limits, a key feature of Saturday's qualifying session could be the FIA deeming several efforts ineligible, with precedence seen at a chaotic Austrian Grand Prix qualifying last season.

1.    Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) 1:32.917
2.    Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) 1:33.469
3.    Kimi Raikkonen    (Ferrari) 1:33.692
4.    Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari) 1:33.918
5.    Max Verstappen (Toro Rosso) 1:34.147
6.    Carlos Sainz Jr (Toro Rosso) 1:34.282
7.    Felipe Massa (Williams) 1:34.501
8.    Valtteri Bottas (Williams) 1:34.538
9.    Daniil Kvyat (Red Bull) 1:34.545
10.  Pastor Maldonado (Lotus) 1:34.708