Nico Rosberg carried through his Friday pace to final practice, once again topping the timesheets for Mercedes. His best lap coming in the last minute of the session.
His 1:31.487 was enough to put him a tenth ahead of team-mate Lewis Hamilton who looked to be in control on his final flying lap with the fastest first sector, but a mistake in the second meant he had to settle for second quickest.
Red Bull locked out third and fourth with Sebastian Vettel over half a second behind his fellow German.
Romain Grosjean was fifth with Daniel Ricciardo sixth and Fernando Alonso seventh.
The session was an eventful one as the drivers got to grips with the dry Silverstone circuit for the first time this weekend.
McLaren’s Sergio Perez caused a red flag 20 minutes into the session after his left-rear tyre “exploded” after just six laps, littering the track with debris. The cause of the failure is as yet unknown.
Meanwhile the green conditions caught out several drivers, particularly through Maggots/Becketts complex of corners.
FP3 Times – 2013 British Grand Prix:
| # | Driver | Team | Time | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01. | N. Rosberg | Mercedes | 1:31.487 | 18 | |
| 02. | L. Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:31.633 | +0.146 | 20 |
| 03. | S. Vettel | Red Bull | 1:32.037 | +0.550 | 20 |
| 04. | M. Webber | Red Bull | 1:32.078 | +0.591 | 17 |
| 05. | R. Grosjean | Lotus | 1:32.391 | +0.904 | 18 |
| 06. | D. Ricciardo | Toro Rosso | 1:32.440 | +0.953 | 19 |
| 07. | F. Alonso | Ferrari | 1:32.454 | +0.967 | 18 |
| 08. | K. Raikkonen | Lotus | 1:32.459 | +0.972 | 22 |
| 09. | A. Sutil | Force India | 1:32.536 | +1.049 | 17 |
| 10. | P. di Resta | Force India | 1:32.571 | +1.084 | 17 |
| 11. | J. Vergne | Toro Rosso | 1:32.580 | +1.093 | 15 |
| 12. | J. Button | McLaren | 1:32.926 | +1.439 | 18 |
| 13. | P. Maldonado | Williams | 1:33.133 | +1.646 | 17 |
| 14. | N. Hulkenberg | Sauber | 1:33.225 | +1.738 | 16 |
| 15. | F. Massa | Ferrari | 1:33.273 | +1.786 | 16 |
| 16. | V. Bottas | Williams | 1:33.309 | +1.822 | 25 |
| 17. | E. Gutierrez | Sauber | 1:33.370 | +1.883 | 19 |
| 18. | S. Perez | McLaren | 1:33.607 | +2.120 | 9 |
| 19. | C. Pic | Caterham | 1:34.971 | +3.484 | 18 |
| 20. | J. Bianchi | Marussia | 1:34.990 | +3.503 | 17 |
| 21. | M. Chilton | Marussia | 1:36.694 | +5.207 | 16 |
| 22. | G. van der Garde | Caterham | 1:37.443 | +5.956 | 18 |
