Sebastian Vettel continued Red Bull’s stranglehold of the time sheets; setting the fastest time in the final practice session before qualifying.
However it could be argued that the German was fortunate to dodge a late yellow flag which prevented a number of rivals from completing their fastest laps.
The caution was caused byHRT’s Bruno Senna who stopped at Turn 18 with just a minute remaining, meaning that Vettel’s time of 1m48.028s would remain unbeaten.
Although Senna was the only major casualty in the hour, a number of drivers would suffer nervy moments as the session opened to a damp track.
Subsequently, Fernando Alonso ended the session in second, six tenths off Vettel, with Lewis Hamilton in third.
Pos Driver Car Time Gap 1. Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m48.028s 2. Alonso Ferrari 1m48.650s + 0.622s 3. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m49.000s + 0.972s 4. Massa Ferrari 1m49.023s + 0.995s 5. Rosberg Mercedes 1m49.056s + 1.028s 6. Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m49.212s + 1.184s 7. Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth 1m49.304s + 1.276s 8. Kubica Renault 1m49.520s + 1.492s 9. Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1m49.916s + 1.888s 10. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m49.949s + 1.921s 11. Petrov Renault 1m50.040s + 2.012s 12. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1m50.053s + 2.025s 13. Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m50.060s + 2.032s 14. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m50.067s + 2.039s 15. Schumacher Mercedes 1m50.067s + 2.039s 16. Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes 1m50.868s + 2.840s 17. Heidfeld Sauber-Ferrari 1m51.016s + 2.988s 18. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m51.027s + 2.999s 19. Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1m52.340s + 4.312s 20. Kovalainen Lotus-Cosworth 1m53.146s + 5.118s 21. di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth 1m53.297s + 5.269s 22. Trulli Lotus-Cosworth 1m53.681s + 5.653s 23. Klien Hispania-Cosworth 1m54.826s + 6.798s 24. Senna Hispania-Cosworth 1m55.367s + 7.339s
