Kimi Raikkonen preserved Ferrari's advantage in the final free practice session before this afternoon's qualifying run for the Malaysian GP.
The Scuderia continued to dominate proceedings in the ultimate dress rehearsal, with the Finn clocking in just ahead of team mate Sebastian Vettel by just over a tenth.
Malaysian Grand Prix - Free Practice 3 results
| Pos | Driver | Team | Time | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kimi Räikkönen | Ferrari | 1:31.880s | 19 | |
| 2 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 1:32.042s | + 0.162s | 14 |
| 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull | 1:32.091s | + 0.211s | 16 |
| 4 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | 1:32.329s | + 0.449s | 24 |
| 5 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:32.539s | + 0.659s | 20 |
| 6 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 1:32.579s | + 0.699s | 17 |
| 7 | Sergio Pérez | Force India | 1:33.209s | + 1.329s | 20 |
| 8 | Felipe Massa | Williams | 1:33.240s | + 1.360s | 20 |
| 9 | Esteban Ocon | Force India | 1:33.290s | + 1.410s | 21 |
| 10 | Stoffel Vandoorne | McLaren | 1:33.321s | + 1.441s | 16 |
| 11 | Fernando Alonso | McLaren | 1:33.530s | + 1.650s | 17 |
| 12 | Lance Stroll | Williams | 1:33.538s | + 1.658s | 21 |
| 13 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | 1:33.787s | + 1.907s | 10 |
| 14 | Nico Hülkenberg | Renault | 1:33.871s | + 1.991s | 14 |
| 15 | Carlos Sainz | Toro Rosso | 1:33.924s | + 2.044s | 22 |
| 16 | Pierre Gasly | Toro Rosso | 1:34.206s | + 2.326s | 24 |
| 17 | Jolyon Palmer | Renault | 1:34.475s | + 2.595s | 12 |
| 18 | Romain Grosjean | Haas | 1:34.914s | + 3.034s | 19 |
| 19 | Marcus Ericsson | Sauber | 1:34.936s | + 3.056s | 19 |
| 20 | Pascal Wehrlein | Sauber | 1:35.045s | + 3.165s | 19 |
Vettel concluded his run with engine trouble however, an issue which will warrant further investigations before this afternoon's crucial grid-defining.
Daniel Ricciardo was hot on the heels of the red squad however, proving that Red Bull will be a force to be reckoned with later on.
In a bid to boost its performance, Hamilton and Bottas ran on different set-ups in FP3 with the former reverting to slightly older settings while the latter stuck with Mercedes' latest updates.
The split choice appeared to favor Hamilton who moved to the top of the timesheet half way through the 60-minute session before Ferrari upped the pace.
Max Verstappen ended the session P6 but it was an untidy end for the Dutch driver who tangled with Jolyon Palmer's Renault in the closing stages of FP3.
The Brit was on a flying lap and tried to brake down the inside of the Red Bull only to hit Verstappen and damage the Renault's front wing in the process.
Having passed the pit entry, Verstappen spun around to enter the pitlane, driving the wrong way on the track!
The incident landed both drivers in hot water as they were summoned to the Stewards.
Both Force India and Williams' Felipe Massa rounded off the top ten.
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