Lewis Hamilton quickest in final practice session before Abu Dhabi Grand Prix qualifying

The McLaren driver again set the pace in practice, while Sebastian Vettel managed to record the third fastest time despite being beset by engineering problems.

McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton
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Lewis Hamilton set a blistering pace in the sunshine of Yas Marina Circuit after dominating the final practice session before qualifying for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Hamilton was notably quicker than his rivals for much of the qualifying, clocking a 1m 42.148, before teammate Jenson Button managed to bring the gap down to three-tenths of a second

But the rest of the field behind the McLaren pair were left gasping as they tried to make up more than a second.

Red Bull were left facing a race ahead of qualifying this evening after Sebastian Vettel failed to emerge until five minutes before then end of the practice session.

Engineers were working throughout practice following the installation lap after reported problems with his front brakes, but eventually he was able to the third fastest time of the day - half a second behind Hamilton.

Teammate Mark Webber was fourth quickest, while Nico Hulkeberg recorded the fit fastest time.

Qualifying gets underway at 5pm.  Follow the action on our liveblog here