Reigning World Champion Lewis Hamilton completed a practice clean sweep as Ferrari moved closer during Saturday’s final session for Formula 1’s Australian Grand Prix.
Hamilton posted a time of 1.22.292 on the Soft tyres to ensure he began the defence of his title by taking top spot in each of the three practice sessions at Melbourne's Albert Park circuit.
Ferrari, having been off the pace through Friday afternoon, moved closer, with Sebastian Vettel second and Charles Leclerc third.
Vettel was 0.264s behind Hamilton while Leclerc finished a couple of tenths down on his four-time World Champion team-mate.
Haas put in an eye-catching performance with Romain Grosjean fourth and Kevin Magnussen fifth, the Frenchman finishing the session as the only non-Ferrari driver to post a time within a second of pacesetter Hamilton.
Red Bull – Mercedes’ primary challenger on Friday – slipped to sixth and ninth respectively, with Pierre Gasly in front of Max Verstappen, who had a scruffy end to his hot lap.
Valtteri Bottas had a handful of off-track excursions en route to a low-key seventh spot, as Toro Rosso’s Daniil Kvyat secured eighth.
Home favourite Daniel Ricciardo capped the top 10 for Renault, fractionally in front of team-mate Nico Hulkenberg, while Antonio Giovinazzi was 12th in the Alfa Romeo.
McLaren’s Carlos Sainz Jr. was next up, in front of Toro Rosso's Alexander Albon, who split Racing Point drivers Sergio Perez and Lance Stroll.
Kimi Raikkonen slipped to 17th, having been at the head of the midfield pack on Friday, while Lando Norris – who was released into the path of Robert Kubica in the pit lane – was again at the rear of that group.
Williams’ lacklustre weekend showed little sign of an upturn in position, although George Russell did at least cut the deficit to Norris to 1.4s, having been 1.7s behind on Friday.
Team-mate Kubica finished a further six-tenths back, the Pole having also clipped the outside wall as he entered the pits to conclude an early run.
Qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix will begin at 17:00 local time
