Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton has sounded his intentions by topping the timesheets at final practice ahead of Saturday’s Australian Grand Prix qualifying in Melbourne.

The five-time world champion clocked a lap of one minute 22.29 seconds ahead of Ferrari teammates Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc in the one-hour session.

Australia’s Renault star Daniel Ricciardo was 10th fastest in the 20-strong field in the final session before qualifying for the Formula 1 season opener starts at 1700 AEDT.