Lewis Hamilton will start qualifying for the Malaysian Grand Prix as favourite for pole position after topping the times by over 0.4s in final practice.
Having been 0.2s clear of team-mate Nico Rosberg on Friday, Hamilton extended his advantage over the championship leader to 0.6s with an impressive qualifying simulation run in FP3. The gap to Rosberg was so big he found himself beaten to second place by Max Verstappen, while Rosberg was less than 0.1s clear of Kimi Raikkonen in fourth.
Raikkonen and team-mate Sebastian Vettel were separated by just 0.02s, with Vettel closing the gap on his second flying lap on soft tyres. Raikkonen failed to improve with an extra lap but Vettel's time suggested there is sufficient life in the soft tyres to carry out two laps on each run in qualifying.
Vettel did not enjoy a completely smooth session, however, with the four-time world champion spinning at the final corner as he took a wide line, wiping out the bollard which marks the pit entry.
Daniel Ricciardo was sixth fastest in the final session having completed his low fuel lap much earlier than his rivals. The top ten was completed by Nico Hulkenberg, Valtteri Bottas, Carlos Sainz and Felipe Massa, while Sergio Perez in 11th was just 0.037s off Sainz, suggesting a close fight for Q3 this afternoon.
Jenson Button will have a place in the top ten in his sights after ending final practice in 12th place, just 0.141s away from ninth, but team-mate Fernando Alonso took a different approach to FP3. Having received an additional 15-place grid penalty - taking him up to 45 in total - for new power unit components, Alonso, who had been in the top ten in both of Friday's sessions, was slowest as he focused on race pace.
Vettel wasn't the first driver to spin at the final corner during the session, with Esteban Gutierrez losing the rear of his Haas and ending up pointing the wrong way on the outside of the track. Rosberg was on a fast lap at the time and had to slow to avoid running wide towards the Mexican.
At the exact same time as Gutierrez's spin, team-mate Romain Grosjean was causing more yellow flags by running wide at Turn 6. The Frenchman caught a slide but ended up taking a trip through the gravel before rejoining, and returned to the pits to have his team check the car after complaining of handling problems.
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| Pos | Driver | Team | Time | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:34.434 | 16 |
| 02 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 1:34.879 | 14 |
| 03 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 1:35.053 | 16 |
| 04 | Kimi Raikkonen | Ferrari | 1:35.150 | 15 |
| 05 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 1:35.170 | 14 |
| 06 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull | 1:35.461 | 22 |
| 07 | Nico Hulkenberg | Force India | 1:35.776 | 16 |
| 08 | Valtteri Bottas | Williams | 1:35.902 | 17 |
| 09 | Carlos Sainz | Toro Rosso | 1:36.222 | 18 |
| 10 | Felipe Massa | Williams | 1:36.227 | 20 |
| 11 | Sergio Perez | Force India | 1:36.259 | 15 |
| 12 | Jenson Button | McLaren | 1:36.363 | 11 |
| 13 | Esteban Gutierrez | Haas | 1:36.553 | 14 |
| 14 | Jolyon Palmer | Renault | 1:36.604 | 20 |
| 15 | Romain Grosjean | Haas | 1:36.687 | 15 |
| 16 | Kevin Magnussen | Renault | 1:36.741 | 19 |
| 17 | Daniil Kvyat | Toro Rosso | 1:36.752 | 20 |
| 18 | Marcus Ericsson | Sauber | 1:36.765 | 19 |
| 19 | Felipe Nasr | Sauber | 1:37.106 | 18 |
| 20 | Esteban Ocon | Manor | 1:37.961 | 17 |
| 21 | Pascal Wehrlein | Manor | 1:38.089 | 13 |
| 22 | Fernando Alonso | McLaren | 1:41.199 | 15 |
