Lewis Hamilton stormed to the top of the timing screens during final practice for the Malaysian Grand Prix as the Briton looked to have control of the session.
The Mercedes driver posted a 1m34.434s to easily beat the quickest time of the weekend so far, putting him almost half a second clear of Red Bull's Max Verstappen, with the Dutchman's late lap putting him between the Mercedes duo.
Championship leader Nico Rosberg could only manage third, six-tenths adrift of his team-mate, and just a tenth faster than Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen in fourth.
Sebastian Vettel and Daniel Ricciardo completed the top six ahead of Nico Hulkenberg's Force India, with the Williams of Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa split by Toro Rosso's Carlos Sainz.
The session saw several drivers struggling for grip, particularly at the final reprofiled corner, which saw Esteban Gutierrez spin out, forcing Rosberg to back off on his first flying lap, whilst just moments later Vettel also span, taking out the pit entry bollard.
Haas' didn't enjoy the best session as Romain Grosjean complained that something wasn't right as he went off track twice.
Fernando Alonso was slowest as he chose to focus on longer runs to prepare for the race following his guaranteed back-row start.