McLaren leads final practice at Chinese GP

SHANGHAI (AP) — Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button showed that McLaren is the team to beat in Saturday's qualifying for the Formula One Chinese Grand Prix after the drivers set the two fastest times in the final practice session.

Hamilton was one-tenth of a second faster than his teammate after switching to soft tires late in the session.

They were followed on the timesheets by the Mercedes team, with Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher clocking the third- and fourth-fastest times.

McLaren and Mercedes have been the leaders in all three practice sessions on the Shanghai circuit this week, suggesting the qualifying race could come down to a duel between the two teams.

However Hamilton, who won back-to-back poles to start the season, can start no higher than sixth in Sunday's race because he will take a five-place grid penalty for changing his gearbox.

Red Bull's Mark Webber was fifth fastest in the final practice, more than a half-second behind Hamilton.

His teammate, world champion Sebastian Vettel, had problems with his car early in the session when the right front end was lifting more than usual, forcing him to leave the track. His best time was only ninth fastest.

Pastor Maldonado had a good run for Williams, clocking the sixth-quickest time of the morning, while Sauber teammates Sergio Perez and Kamui Kobayashi were seventh and eighth.

Ferrari had a dismal final practice session, with Malaysian Grand Prix winner Fernando Alonso setting the 15th-fastest time and his struggling teammate Felipe Massa buried down in 18th place.

Paul di Resta of Force India went off the track on his final lap, barely avoiding hitting the wall before managing to regain control and come to a stop.