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Hamilton keeps Mercedes ahead in Abu Dhabi FP3

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

Pos	Driver	Team	Time	Gap	Laps
1	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:37.176s		16
2	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	1:37.464s	+ 0.288s	18
3	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	1:37.587s	+ 0.411s	14
4	Max Verstappen	Red Bull	1:37.747s	+ 0.571s	14
5	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	1:37.933s	+ 0.757s	15
6	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull	1:38.090s	+ 0.914s	11
7	Romain Grosjean	Haas	1:38.304s	+ 1.128s	13
8	Nico Hülkenberg	Renault	1:38.850s	+ 1.674s	15
9	Carlos Sainz	Renault	1:38.970s	+ 1.794s	15
10	Esteban Ocon	Force India	1:39.011s	+ 1.835s	7
11	Sergio Pérez	Force India	1:39.053s	+ 1.877s	14
12	Brendon Hartley	Toro Rosso	1:39.074s	+ 1.898s	17
13	Charles Leclerc	Sauber	1:39.282s	+ 2.106s	9
14	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	1:39.612s	+ 2.436s	12
15	Pierre Gasly	Toro Rosso	1:39.740s	+ 2.564s	12
16	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	1:39.974s	+ 2.798s	12
17	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	1:39.997s	+ 2.821s	19
18	Lance Stroll	Williams	1:40.117s	+ 2.941s	18
19	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren	1:40.233s	+ 3.057s	13
20	Sergey Sirotkin	Williams	1:41.182s	+ 4.006s	21

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.

Stewards throw out Haas protest against Force India

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...

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Michael Delaney