Sebastian Vettel fastest ahead of qualifying session

Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull was quickest in Formula One's last practice session ahead of Saturday's qualifying for the Spanish Grand Prix.

The two-time defending world champion set the pace with a lap of 1 minute, 23.168 seconds at the Catalunya Circuit, which was quickly heating up and degrading tires to provide a slippery obstacle for drivers to deal with.

Vettel is coming off his first pole position of the season in Bahrain and is looking for a second straight victory at the first European race of the season.

The German driver led Pastor Maldonado of Williams by under two-tenths of a second, with Kamui Kobayashi of Sauber, teammate Mark Webber and Sergio Perez of Sauber all within half a second of F1's points leader.