The German driver, who is third in the standings, 15 points off the pace, was the man to beat in Abu Dhabi, clocking a 1:40.696 to edge his team-mate Mark Webber by 0.133s.Lewis Hamilton was third ahead of Championship leader Fernando Alonso.
Jenson Button was best of the rest behind the Championship four, pipping Renault's Vitaly Petrov and Michael Schumacher. Nico Rosberg completed the top eight in a session that saw no major dramas unfold.
Report: Saturday afternoon's final practice got underway on a dry Yas Marina circuit, with the track temperature was a sweltering 43'C as Jarno Trulli leading out the field for their installation laps. With the system checks over the drivers headed back into the pits for last minute instructions before the serious work began.
Lucas di Grassi broke the silence, crossing the line with a 1:48.532. The Virgin driver lowered the benchmark time as Trulli and Timo Glock joined the action. Jaime Alguersuari put his Toro Rosso into the P1 slot with a 1:44.339, topping Nick Heidfeld and Sebastien Buemi.
Robert Kubica was the next up into the P1 slot before losing out to Michael Schumacher by 0.097s. Fernando Alonso took third place before he was pipped by Vitaly Petrov. Jenson Button slotted into fifth place ahead of Nico Hulkenberg, Felipe Massa and Sebastian Vettel.
Alonso overhauled the pack, taking the P1 slot with a 1:42.291. His reign was short-lived as Vettel went quickest with Nico Rosberg moving up to second place. Lewis Hamilton joined the action, up to second place, 0.366s off the pace. Mark Webber went fifth quickest and on his next lap took the P1 slot off his team-mate by 0.007s. Vettel responded with a fastest lap time of his own.
Alonso, having dropped to P9 during his time in the pits, ventured out on the softer option tyres, taking fourth place, 0.5s off the pace, on his first timed lap. His team-mate Massa went P7. The Red Bulls, first and second, were the next to try the soft option tyres. Vettel was unable to better his time, Alonso climbed to second place, Vettel did better his time and Webber climbed to second place, 0.011s behind his team-mate.
The session with Red Bull holding onto the 1-2, Vettel ahead of Webber, Hamilton was up to third place, 0.342s off the pace, while Alonso was fourth. Button was fifth quickest.
Times
01. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m40.696s 18 laps
02. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m40.829s + 0.133s 15 laps
03. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m41.280s + 0.584s 13 laps
04. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m41.490s + 0.794s 14 laps
05. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m41.578s + 0.882s 17 laps
06. Vitaly Petrov Renault 1m41.689s + 0.993s 17 laps
07. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m41.690s + 0.994s 18 laps
08. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m41.729s + 1.033s 17 laps
09. Robert Kubica Renault 1m41.877s + 1.181s 18 laps
10. Nick Heidfeld Sauber-Ferrari 1m41.893s + 1.197s 20 laps
11. Nico Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth 1m41.934s + 1.238s 18 laps
12. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m41.978s + 1.282s 14 laps
13. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1m42.316s + 1.620s 15 laps
14. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m42.566s + 1.870s 16 laps
15. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1m42.587s + 1.891s 18 laps
16. Tonio Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes 1m42.858s + 2.162s 14 laps
17. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m42.993s + 2.297s 20 laps
18. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m43.344s + 2.648s 18 laps
19. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Cosworth 1m44.876s + 4.180s 15 laps
20. Jarno Trulli Lotus-Cosworth 1m45.048s + 4.352s 23 laps
21. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1m45.050s + 4.354s 20 laps
22. Bruno Senna Hispania-Cosworth 1m45.490s + 4.794s 16 laps
23. Lucas di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth 1m45.629s + 4.933s 22 laps
24. Christian Klien Hispania-Cosworth 1m46.464s + 5.768s 17 laps
Source: Planet-F1
