Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel set the quickest time overall in the third free practice session ahead of the Abu Dhabi grand prix.

The Ferrari driver’s quickest time of 1:40:775 was a tenth and a half quicker than Red Bull’s Max Verstappen while the sister Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen rounded out the top three some tenths adrift. The first Mercedes, in the shape of Lewis Hamilton was fourth with championship leader Nico Rosberg in fifth.

Daniel Ricciardo chose to run an alternate strategy to the rest of the frontrunners which saw not use the quickest ultrasoft tyre compound in the sixty minute session. The session ran uneventfully save for a few lazy spins and presented a potentially close battle amongst the mid-field; positions seven to thirteen were covered by only seven tenths of a second.

While Mercedes did not dominate the final practice session all expectations are that it will be Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg who duke it out for pole in the all important final quali session of the season.

Final Free Practice Three Standings: