Jenson Button claimed the practice hat-trick at Suzuka on Saturday morning when he topped a red-flagged practice session.
The McLaren driver, who topped both sessions on Friday, was again the one to beat in final practice, setting the pace on both Pirelli compounds.
Button led the way just before the halfway point of the session with a 1:33.0 and was holding onto his lead when Bruno Senna brought out the red flags when he crashed heavily.
The session was stopped for nine minutes as marshals cleared the Renault and, once underway again, it was a mad dash to get in as many laps as possible before qualifying.
In the usual fashion, there was a late switch to the option tyres, which again saw Button finish quickest of all with a 1:31.255.
Lewis Hamilton was second, 0.507s adrift, while Sebastian Cettel was third fastest.
Report: Blue skies and a track temperature of 34'C greeted the drivers as Jaime Alguersuari led the field out for their installation laps. Having lost track-time in both sessions on Friday, Pastor Maldonado was quickly back out track, posting the first time of the morning, a 1:41.979.
But once the big boys came out it was all them as Jenson Button went quickest with a 1:33.493, Sebastian Vettel took second and Michael Schumacher third ahead of Nico Rosberg. Button went on to lower the benchmark by four tenths.
Bruno Senna's morning came to a premature end when, 25 minutes into practice, he suffered a massive shunt. Dropping the wheel on the exit of Spoon, the Renault driver lost control and hit the barriers nose first before the left side wheel, still tethered to the car, got caught under it causing even more damage. The session was red flagged.
Nine minutes later, the drivers ventured out with Paul di Resta leading the way. Rosberg improved to first place with a 1:32.878 while Fernanod Alonso took second behind Buton and ahead of Lewis Hamilton, Mark Webber and Vettel.
But it was game over for Tonio Liuzzi, who for the second successive session, parked his HRT on the side of the track with an engine problem.
Schumacher, on the option tyres, was the next to lead the way with a 1:32.725 while Webber took second. Both, though, were dropped when Button, also on the options, hit the front again a massive 1.470s up on Schumi's best. Hamilton took second behind his team-mate, half a second off the pace, with Alonso third. Vettel then improved to third while Webber went fifth.
Times
01. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m31.255 13 laps
02. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m31.762 + 0.507 16 laps
03. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m32.122 + 0.867 18 laps
04. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m32.279 + 1.024 16 laps
05. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m32.401 + 1.146 14 laps
06. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m32.429 + 1.174 16 laps
07. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m32.725 + 1.470 19 laps
08. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m32.878 + 1.623 17 laps
09. Vitaly Petrov Renault 1m33.058 + 1.803 15 laps
10. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1m33.424 + 2.169 14 laps
11. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m33.469 + 2.214 18 laps
12. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m33.545 + 2.290 18 laps
13. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m33.818 + 2.563 17 laps
14. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m33.836 + 2.581 21 laps
15. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m33.990 + 2.735 16 laps
16. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 1m34.321 + 3.066 21 laps
17. Bruno Senna Renault 1m35.389 + 4.134 5 laps
18. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1m35.651 + 4.396 18 laps
19. Jarno Trulli Lotus-Renault 1m36.327 + 5.072 16 laps
20. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Renault 1m36.912 + 5.657 14 laps
21. Jerome D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 1m37.938 + 6.683 17 laps
22. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1m38.011 + 6.756 16 laps
23. Daniel Ricciardo HRT-Cosworth 1m38.355 + 7.100 19 laps
24. Tonio Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth 1m41.097 + 9.842 8 laps
