Red Bull driver Daniel Ricciardo set the quickest time during a damp final practice session in China.
Felipe Massa was second for Williams, ahead of Lotus's Romain Grosjean.
Nico Hulkenberg finished in fourth for Force India, with Kimi Raikkonen in fifth and Pastor Maldonado sixth.
The Lotus driver however had to stop on track after a technical problem with his E22.
Several drivers, including both Mercedes racers, opted not to set a lap time.
| Position | Number | Driver | Team | Time/Retired | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull Racing-Renault | 1:53.958 | 5 | |
| 2 | 19 | Felipe Massa | Williams-Mercedes | 1:54.492 | 0.534 | 5 |
| 3 | 8 | Romain Grosjean | Lotus-Renault | 1:54.514 | 0.556 | 4 |
| 4 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Force India-Mercedes | 1:55.032 | 1.074 | 6 |
| 5 | 7 | Kimi Räikkönen | Ferrari | 1:55.062 | 1.104 | 4 |
| 6 | 13 | Pastor Maldonado | Lotus-Renault | 1:55.228 | 1.270 | 12 |
| 7 | 26 | Daniil Kvyat | STR-Renault | 1:55.235 | 1.277 | 7 |
| 8 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Williams-Mercedes | 1:55.381 | 1.423 | 5 |
| 9 | 22 | Jenson Button | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:55.673 | 1.715 | 4 |
| 10 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Force India-Mercedes | 1:56.019 | 2.061 | 6 |
| 11 | 1 | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull Racing-Renault | 1:56.233 | 2.275 | 8 |
| 12 | 25 | Jean-Eric Vergne | STR-Renault | 1:56.380 | 2.422 | 9 |
| 13 | 99 | Adrian Sutil | Sauber-Ferrari | 1:56.760 | 2.802 | 8 |
| 14 | 4 | Max Chilton | Marussia-Ferrari | 1:56.841 | 2.883 | 13 |
| 15 | 21 | Esteban Gutierrez | Sauber-Ferrari | 1:57.468 | 3.510 | 9 |
| 16 | 10 | Kamui Kobayashi | Caterham-Renault | 1:57.812 | 3.854 | 12 |
| 17 | 17 | Jules Bianchi | Marussia-Ferrari | 1:57.976 | 4.018 | 14 |
| 18 | 9 | Marcus Ericsson | Caterham-Renault | 1:59.507 | 5.549 | 6 |
| 19 | 6 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | No time | 4 | |
| 20 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | McLaren-Mercedes | No time | 3 | |
| 21 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari | No time | 1 | |
| 22 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | No time | 3 |
