Sebastian Vettel put his Red Bull on top of the time sheets with just under a minute left on the clock to beat Pastor Maldonado to the top spot in final practice.
The German bolted on a set of softs to go a tenth quicker than Jenson Button’s best time on Friday.
Behind Vettel, the field was a little more mixed than usual on a Saturday, with Maldonado heading Kamui Kobayashi by two hundredths of a second.
Mark Webber then split the two Saubers, whilst home favourite Fernando Alonso slotted into sixth ahead of Toro Rosso’s Jean-Eric Vergne.
The session was about what could have been after several drivers encountered traffic on their flying laps, most notably Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton – both of whom looked to be heading for the top of the times before coming across slower cars in the final chicane.
Meanwhile Romain Grosjean failed to set a timed lap after a fuel pressure issue left him stranded out on track in his Lotus.
2012 Spanish GP FP3 Results:
| # | Driver | Team | Time | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01. | S. Vettel | Red Bull | 1:23.168 | 13 | |
| 02. | P. Maldonado | Williams | 1:23.336 | +0.168 | 19 |
| 03. | K. Kobayashi | Sauber | 1:23.350 | +0.182 | 19 |
| 04. | M. Webber | Red Bull | 1:23.578 | +0.410 | 16 |
| 05. | S. Perez | Sauber | 1:23.742 | +0.574 | 22 |
| 06. | F. Alonso | Ferrari | 1:23.807 | +0.639 | 15 |
| 07. | J. Vergne | Toro Rosso | 1:23.833 | +0.665 | 14 |
| 08. | J. Button | McLaren | 1:23.909 | +0.741 | 13 |
| 09. | K. Raikkonen | Lotus | 1:23.936 | +0.768 | 16 |
| 10. | N. Rosberg | Mercedes | 1:24.070 | +0.902 | 24 |
| 11. | F. Massa | Ferrari | 1:24.179 | +1.011 | 16 |
| 12. | N. Hulkenberg | Force India | 1:24.323 | +1.155 | 17 |
| 13. | D. Ricciardo | Toro Rosso | 1:24.331 | +1.163 | 15 |
| 14. | B. Senna | Williams | 1:24.409 | +1.241 | 18 |
| 15. | P. di Resta | Force India | 1:24.599 | +1.431 | 15 |
| 16. | L. Hamilton | McLaren | 1:24.778 | +1.610 | 15 |
| 17. | M. Schumacher | Mercedes | 1:24.825 | +1.657 | 17 |
| 18. | V. Petrov | Caterham | 1:25.911 | +2.743 | 20 |
| 19. | H. Kovalainen | Caterham | 1:26.587 | +3.419 | 20 |
| 20. | C. Pic | Marussia | 1:27.469 | +4.301 | 18 |
| 21. | T. Glock | Marussia | 1:27.689 | +4.521 | 16 |
| 22. | N. Karthikeyan | HRT | 1:28.207 | +5.039 | 24 |
| 23. | P. de la Rosa | HRT | 1:29.373 | +5.205 | 13 |
| 24. | R. Grosjean | Lotus | No Time | 2 |
