Rosberg retains upper hand with Ferrari, Force India close

Nico Rosberg ended the final practice session for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix more than a quarter of a second clear of team-mate Lewis Hamilton.

While Hamilton was fastest in FP1 on Friday, Rosberg hit back with the fastest time of the second session and then extended that advantage to 0.281s in FP3. Hamilton had a difficult session as he suffered a spin at Turn 5 on soft tyres before running wide at the same corner on his first supersoft tyre lap.

A strange moment between the two Mercedes drivers then followed, as Hamilton closed up on Rosberg and almost ran in to the rear of his team-mate's car at the Turn 11-12-13 complex before overtaking on the exit.

Sebastian Vettel was third fastest and just 0.048s slower than Hamilton after the world champion's mistakes, with Ferrari closing the gap on the supersoft tyre. Similar to Hamilton, Vettel had a spin during the session as he slid off at Turn 1 on the soft tyre but managed a clean lap on the quicker compound.

Force India remained competitive after impressing in FP2, with Sergio Perez fourth quickest, 0.6s slower than Rosberg despite saying on Friday the focus would be on improving his race pace. Kimi Raikkonen ended the session fifth ahead of Daniel Ricciardo in sixth as the only other drivers within a second of the fastest time.

Williams pair Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas improved to eighth and ninth respectively - behind Nico Hulkenberg in the second Force India - but did not deliver the step forward normally seen from the team on a Saturday.

There was continued encouragement for McLaren after Fernando Alonso's ninth place in FP2, with Jenson Button ending the final practice session in 11th on a circuit where he expects the team to struggle.

While Ricciardo was inside the top six, team-mate Daniil Kvyat failed to set a time as an electrical problem saw him confined to the garage for the majority of the session, with Kvyat completing just two laps.

The order has remained fairly stable throughout the weekend so far, but times in FP1 and FP3 are rarely representative in Abu Dhabi due to the hot conditions, with FP2, qualifying and the race taking place at sunset and finishing under floodlights with much cooler track temperatures.

Eric Silbermann's Abu Dhabi grumpy preview

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