Practice 3 Report - The answer is, Vettel

There was never any doubt that the Mercedes drivers would be quickest in Free Practice 3 for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and they were with Nico Rosberg edging teammate Lewis Hamilton by 0.281 of a second so the question was who would end up third. And the answer to that was Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel.

The line-up for the weekend was: Mercedes Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg. Red Bull Renault Daniel Ricciardo and Daniil Kvyat. Williams Mercedes Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas. Ferrari Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen. McLaren Honda Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button. Force India Mercedes Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez. Toro Rosso Renault Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz. Lotus Mercedes Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado. Marussia Ferrari Will Stevens and Roberto Merhi. Sauber Marcus Ericsson and Felipe Nasr.

The ambient temperature at the start of the session was 81 degrees Fahrenheit (27 degrees Centigrade) and the track temperature was 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 degrees Centigrade).

Nasr and Grosjean were the first out for the 60 minute session. Nasr set a 1:46.061. He like the rest of the drivers was on the soft compound Pirelli tire. Perez beat that time with his 1:44.306, and then Sainz clocked a 1:44.300.

15 minutes into the session, Vettel did a 1:44.143, and Raikkonen topped that with a 1:43.214.

17 minutes into the session, Rosberg and Hamilton headed out for their first proper laps.

19 minutes into the session, Vettel spun at Turn 1.

20 minutes into the session, Rosberg moved into second with a 1:43.415.

23 minutes into the session, Hamilton went first with a 1:43.078.

27 minutes into the session, Hamilton spun at Turn 5.

Midway through FP3 the top 10 were: Hamilton, Raikkonen, Rosberg, Vettel, Ricciardo, Sainz, Massa, Verstappen and Hulkenberg.

With 16 minutes remaining in the session, everybody was in the pits except Vettel and Sainz. And they soon pitted.

With 14 minutes remaining in the session, Hamilton and Rosberg took to the track. Rosberg took the lead with a 1:42.196 while Hamilton slid off the track in his lap.

With 6 minutes remaining in the session, Bottas moved into fourth place. Massa and then Ricciardo took third place. Then it belonged to Vettel.

With 2 minutes remaining in the session, Hamilton, with a time of 1:42.137, was still second behind his teammate.

And so Rosberg came out on top of FP3 ahead of Hamilton, Vettel, Perez, Raikkonen, Ricciardo, Hulkenberg, Massa, Bottas and Sainz.