Sebastian Vettel confirmed his place at the top of the times for the first time this weekend, but it was a close final practice session with the top nine drivers covered by under a second.
Jenson Button finished just under a tenth slower than the German, splitting the two Red Bulls with Mark Webber a further half tenth slower.
Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso rounded off the top five cars.
The session was a drama free one, though Toro Rosso’s Sebastien Buemi only managed three laps following a hydraulic leak.
The times and setup work could all be irrelevant as rain is expected to fall at some stage during qualifying and is almost guaranteed during the race on Sunday.
Brazilian GP Free Practice 3 Results:
| Pos | Driver | Team | Time | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01. | S. Vettel | Red Bull | 1:12.460 | 21 | |
| 02. | J. Button | McLaren | 1:12.547 | +0.087 | 19 |
| 03. | M. Webber | Red Bull | 1:12.597 | +0.137 | 21 |
| 04. | L. Hamilton | McLaren | 1:12.622 | +0.162 | 15 |
| 05. | F. Alonso | Ferrari | 1:12.765 | +0.305 | 17 |
| 06. | A. Sutil | Force India | 1:13.113 | +0.653 | 22 |
| 07. | N. Rosberg | Mercedes | 1:13.286 | +0.826 | 21 |
| 08. | M. Schumacher | Mercedes | 1:13.393 | +0.933 | 19 |
| 09. | P. di Resta | Force India | 1:13.419 | +0.959 | 19 |
| 10. | F. Massa | Ferrari | 1:13.583 | +1.123 | 18 |
| 11. | V. Petrov | Renault | 1:13.838 | +1.378 | 20 |
| 12. | R. Barrichello | Williams | 1:14.283 | +1.823 | 19 |
| 13. | J. Alguersuari | Toro Rosso | 1:14.286 | +1.826 | 20 |
| 14. | K. Kobayashi | Sauber | 1:14.311 | +1.851 | 24 |
| 15. | P. Maldonado | Williams | 1:14.454 | +1.994 | 22 |
| 16. | S. Perez | Sauber | 1:14.547 | +2.087 | 24 |
| 17. | B. Senna | Renault | 1:14.551 | +2.091 | 15 |
| 18. | J. Trulli | Team Lotus | 1:15.843 | +3.383 | 24 |
| 19. | H. Kovalainen | Team Lotus | 1:16.026 | +3.566 | 22 |
| 20. | J. d’Ambrosio | Virgin | 1:16.616 | +4.156 | 26 |
| 21. | V. Liuzzi | HRT | 1:17.143 | +4.683 | 23 |
| 22. | D. Ricciardo | HRT | 1:17.296 | +4.836 | 23 |
| 23. | T. Glock | Virgin | 1:17.984 | +5.524 | 23 |
| 24. | S. Buemi | Toro Rosso | 3 |
