Nico Rosberg pulled clear of team-mate and championship rival Lewis Hamilton during final practice for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
The German’s best lap was over three-tenths quicker than Hamilton, though the Briton looked set to better his own, but a small mistake cost him vital tenths.
Meanwhile Felipe Massa placed his Williams third ahead of Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel, whilst McLaren’s Jenson Button was sixth.
The second Red Bull of Daniel Ricciardo was seventh, narrowly ahead of Valtteri Bottas.
The top nine were covered by just 1.6 seconds, but exclude the Mercedes and that drops to just three-tenths, leaving the prospect of a close battle for third place on the grid.
FP3 Full Times – 2014 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix:
| # | No. | Driver | Team | Time | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | 6 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 1:41.424 | 19 | |
| 02 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:41.793 | 0.369 | 17 |
| 03 | 19 | Felipe Massa | Williams | 1:42.429 | 1.005 | 18 |
| 04 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari | 1:42.653 | 1.229 | 8 |
| 05 | 1 | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull | 1:42.679 | 1.255 | 19 |
| 06 | 22 | Jenson Button | McLaren | 1:42.768 | 1.344 | 20 |
| 07 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull | 1:42.773 | 1.349 | 14 |
| 08 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Williams | 1:42.794 | 1.370 | 19 |
| 09 | 26 | Daniil Kvyat | Toro Rosso | 1:42.809 | 1.385 | 20 |
| 10 | 7 | Kimi Räikkönen | Ferrari | 1:43.038 | 1.614 | 14 |
| 11 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | McLaren | 1:43.112 | 1.688 | 13 |
| 12 | 25 | Jean-Eric Vergne | Toro Rosso | 1:43.352 | 1.928 | 20 |
| 13 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Force India | 1:43.360 | 1.936 | 19 |
| 14 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Force India | 1:43.501 | 2.077 | 18 |
| 15 | 21 | Esteban Gutierrez | Sauber | 1:43.643 | 2.219 | 24 |
| 16 | 13 | Pastor Maldonado | Lotus | 1:43.718 | 2.294 | 17 |
| 17 | 8 | Romain Grosjean | Lotus | 1:43.778 | 2.354 | 18 |
| 18 | 99 | Adrian Sutil | Sauber | 1:44.022 | 2.598 | 22 |
| 19 | 10 | Kamui Kobayashi | Caterham | 1:45.044 | 3.620 | 16 |
| 20 | 46 | Will Stevens | Caterham | 1:45.959 | 4.535 | 21 |
