Lewis Hamilton laid down the gauntlet to title rival Nico Rosberg by setting the fastest time in final practice for the Belgian Grand Prix.
Rosberg left the Spa-Francorchamps Circuit on Friday night claiming to be "one step ahead" of his team-mate after topping the timesheets in both sessions.
But Hamilton responded in emphatic fashion on another blisteringly warm day at a track so often synonymous with inclement weather.
Hamilton's best lap of one minute 48.984 seconds was almost half a second quicker than his Mercedes team-mate Rosberg.
Sebastian Vettel, taking part in his 150th grand prix weekend, was third fastest, 0.645sec down on Hamilton, while his Ferrari team-mate Kimi Raikkonen finished the session in fourth.
The second practice session on Friday had been dominated by Rosberg's harrowing 190mph tyre blowout.
Rosberg, whose wife Vivian is due to give birth to their first child, was fortunate to emerge unscathed from the high-speed drama on the approach to Blanchimont.
But an overnight investigation conducted by Pirelli - Formula One's sole tyre supplier - concluded that the failure was caused by an external source, most likely debris or a kerb, and not structural damage to the tyre itself. And there were no further issues in final practice.
McLaren's Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso will start Sunday's race from the back of the grid after they were dealt a combined 55-place grid penalty.
Button and Alonso are using their eighth Honda engine of the campaign here in Spa, a track which relies heavily on power. However, the new- specification engine brought to Belgium by the team has failed to have the desired effect.
Alonso spent the final session twiddling his thumbs in the McLaren garage and failed to post a time. Button, meanwhile, was only 17th, three seconds adrift of Hamilton's best lap.
Elsewhere, Max Verstappen, who was 13th on Saturday morning, will serve a 10-place grid penalty after taking on his sixth new engine so far this season. Lotus driver Romain Grosjean is also set to be demoted five places following a gearbox change.
Source: PA
