Lewis Hamilton topped the times ahead of his Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas as the champions dominated Saturday’s third and final free practice for Sunday’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
The newly-crowned four-time world champion clocked a record best lap in one minute and 37.627 seconds to outpace the Finn by more than two-tenths of a second on another hot day at the Yas Marina Circuit.
The two Ferraris of 2007 champion Kimi Raikkonen and German four-time champion Sebastian Vettel were third and fourth, both half a second adrift of the 32-year-old Englishman.
Australian Daniel Ricciardo was fifth ahead of his Red Bull team-mate Max Verstappen, with a resurgent Fernando Alonso taking seventh for McLaren Honda ahead of his team-mate, the Belgian Stoffel Vandoorne.
Spaniard Carlos Sainz was ninth for Toro Rosso and Mexican Sergio Perez 10th for Force India.
The session was run in hot, dry and windy conditions, but Hamilton was comfortably on top with Bottas in pursuit and the Ferraris struggling behind –- and there were no major incidents as the teams prepared for the twilight qualifying session later Saturday. – Agence France-Presse
