George Russell topped a tight final practice session for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, just 0.004 seconds quicker than championship leader Lando Norris.
Four-time world champion Max Verstappen finished 0.124 seconds behind Norris as third quickest, with fellow title rival Oscar Piastri fifth, 0.259 seconds behind two-time world champion Fernando Alonso.
The tense final practice session on Saturday also saw seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton continue a string of disappointing results in his first year for Ferrari as he crashed into the barriers, ending his session early.
Hamilton was able to walk away from the accident, reporting on the radio: "Something buckled at the front and snapped the rear."
The session was red-flagged for 13 minutes as the Ferrari was recovered, and the team race a race against time to fix the car for qualifying at 6 p.m. local time (2 p.m. GMT).
The session also saw further drama as Kimi Antonelli crashed into Yuki Tsunoda in the pitlane after an unsafe release with both cars receiving damage. The collision is under investigation by stewards.
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff told Sky Sports afterwards: "I'm sorry for Yuki because I think we damaged one of the good bits of his car.
"It was our mistake. We need to identify what happened. I'm not quite sure."
Earlier on in the session, Norris was forced to take avoiding action running wide around Turn 11, as he nearly collided with Tsunoda who was going slowly in the middle of the track.
Verstappen reported issues with his Red Bull car, telling the team over the radio: "The problem is that the car still jumps.
"I can't keep my feet on the pedals."
The Dutchman reported similar issues in Friday's practice sessions, but has finished in the top three in each session.
"I think something is broken on the car," reported Verstappen in the first session.
"Where are the main areas of issue?," his race engineer, Gianpiero Lambiase, asked. "It is everywhere now," replied the Dutchman.
Pole position is cruicial at Yas Marina circuit, with the last 10 winners of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix starting from the front of the grid.
Norris won last year's race from pole, breaking Verstappen's run of four consecutive wins from pole at this circuit since 2020.