Hamilton keeps Mercedes ahead in Abu Dhabi FP3

© XPB 

Lewis Hamilton picked up on Saturday where team mate Valtteri Bottas left off yesterday, topping the Abu Dhabi GP's final free practice session.

The Mercedes driver led Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen by 0.288s, while Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull's Max Verstappen rounded off the top four.

2018 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix - Free Practice 3 times

PosDriverTeamTimeGapLaps
1Lewis HamiltonMercedes1:37.176s16
2Kimi RäikkönenFerrari1:37.464s+ 0.288s18
3Sebastian VettelFerrari1:37.587s+ 0.411s14
4Max VerstappenRed Bull1:37.747s+ 0.571s14
5Valtteri BottasMercedes1:37.933s+ 0.757s15
6Daniel RicciardoRed Bull1:38.090s+ 0.914s11
7Romain GrosjeanHaas1:38.304s+ 1.128s13
8Nico HülkenbergRenault1:38.850s+ 1.674s15
9Carlos SainzRenault1:38.970s+ 1.794s15
10Esteban OconForce India1:39.011s+ 1.835s7
11Sergio PérezForce India1:39.053s+ 1.877s14
12Brendon HartleyToro Rosso1:39.074s+ 1.898s17
13Charles LeclercSauber1:39.282s+ 2.106s9
14Kevin MagnussenHaas1:39.612s+ 2.436s12
15Pierre GaslyToro Rosso1:39.740s+ 2.564s12
16Fernando AlonsoMcLaren1:39.974s+ 2.798s12
17Marcus EricssonSauber1:39.997s+ 2.821s19
18Lance StrollWilliams1:40.117s+ 2.941s18
19Stoffel VandoorneMcLaren1:40.233s+ 3.057s13
20Sergey SirotkinWilliams1:41.182s+ 4.006s21

As yesterday's first free practice, the ultimate rehearsal before qualifying was unrepresentative for the teams because of the contrast in conditions between FP3 and this evening's shootout.

Temperatures are expected to fall by about 15 degrees centigrade between the two sessions.

Nevertheless, almost all drivers ventured out on to the track for their installation laps before winding up a fast run.

Williams' Lance Stroll and Sergey Sirotkin put their names at the top of the timesheet at the outset before Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen quickly put the duo in its place by over 2 seconds.

Twenty minutes in to the session, an over-enthusiastic Charles Leclerc got it wrong on the exit of Turn 19 and reversed into the barrier, heavily damaging his Sauber's rear wing.

Shortly after Sebastian Vettel made it a Ferrari 1-2, Lewis Hamilton moved into second behind the German driver, with Max Verstappen - who was fastest in FP1 yesterday - slotting himself into third.

Raikkonen was spotted heading towards the pitlane before changing direction and staying, a move that will likely be frowned upon by the stewards.

Meanwhile, at Force India, Esteban Ocon remained confined to the team's garage, the victim of an apparent engine issue.

Vettel ramped up the speed to clock in at 1m37.587s, to which Hamilton responded with a faster 1m37.176s. Raikkonen then attempted to join the party at the front with a quali simulation but had to settle for second, just 0.288s off the Mercedes.

Confirming their usual power deficit against their front-running rivals, Red Bull's Dan Ricciardo and Vetstappen lined up fifth and sixth with ten minutes remaining on the session's clock.

However, in the closing stages of the session, Verstappen progressed to fourth while Ricciardo was forced to pull off the track after his car appeared to shut down.

It was worrying sign before qualifying for the Aussie who has endured more retirements this season than Hamilton has suffered in the last five years. Let that sink in for a minute...

Gallery: The beautiful wives and girlfriends of F1 drivers

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter