FP3: Hamilton fastest in final practice

The final practice of the season took place on a hot Yas Marina track at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix this morning and it was once again Lewis Hamilton who recorded the best time with his Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas in behind in second.

Hamilton finished second in the opening practice yesterday but was fastest in the afternoon, setting a track record in the process.

He recorded a time of 1:37.627 which was 0.478s better than Bottas in the runner-up spot.

It was a race for team-mates as the drivers for Mercedes, Ferrari, and Red Bull all finished next to each other.

The Scuderia started the practice positively and set the early pace through both Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen who took P1 and P2. There was a moment of slight concern on the track which saw the speed drop as an umbrella fell on to the circuit, resulting in the virtual safety car coming out. This was quickly sorted without incident, but it did open up the opportunity for Mercedes to regroup.

Raikkonen and Vettel would eventually finish third and fourth respectively.

Mercedes and Ferrari exchanged P1 in the race, but in behind this foursome for the majority was Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen of Red Bull who took fifth and sixth. The latter reported on the track that he found his RB13 vehicle difficult to drive.

Fernando Alonso, Stoffel Vandoorne, Carlos Sainz and Sergio Perez rounded up the top ten.

FP3 times:

1 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:37.627
2 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 1:37.900 0.273
3 Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 1:38.157 0.530
4 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 1:38.174 0.547
5 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull 1:38.340 0.713
6 Max Verstappen Red Bull 1:38.587 0.960
7 Fernando Alonso McLaren 1:39.155 1.528
8 Stoffel Vandoorne McLaren 1:39.277 1.650
9 Carlos Sainz Renault Sport 1:39.340 1.713
10 Sergio Perez Force India 1:39.367 1.740
11 Felipe Massa Williams 1:39.383 1.756
12 Nico Hulkenberg Renault Sport 1:39.396 1.769
13 Esteban Ocon Force India 1:39.500 1.873
14 Kevin Magnussen Haas 1:39.831 2.204
15 Romain Grosjean Haas 1:40.079 2.452
16 Pascal Wehrlein Sauber 1:40.307 2.680
17 Lance Stroll Williams 1:40.572 2.945
18 Pierre Gasly Toro Rosso 1:40.737 3.110
19 Marcus Ericsson Sauber 1:40.789 3.162
20 Brendon Hartley Toro Rosso 1:40.883 3.256