McLaren's Jenson Button top in European GP 3rd practice

McLaren driver Jenson Button topped the third practice session at the European Grand Prix on Saturday, followed by Lotus pair Romain Grosjean and Kimi Raikkonen.

Button, the 2009 Formula One champion, went out late on soft tires to clock a lap time of 1 minute, 38.562 seconds on Valencia's winding 5.4-kilometer (3.3-mile) street circuit.

Grosjean, who was the first to switch from medium to soft tires in the session, was 0.093 seconds adrift. Raikkonen finished 0.197 seconds off Button's pace.

Lewis Hamilton, Button's teammate and the overall points leader, had another modest session, recording the eighth fastest time. Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso was 12th.

The first 14 drivers finished within a one-second margin.

Qualifying for Sunday's race is set for later on Saturday.