Third practice for the 2017 Formula 1 Malaysian Grand Prix, the 15th round of the season, took place at Sepang International Circuit.
Kimi Räikkönen was fastest with a 1:31.880. Sebastian Vettel was second, 0.162 seconds behind, followed by Daniel Ricciardo in third, 0.211 seconds off the pace.
The top five were Kimi Räikkönen, Sebastian Vettel, Daniel Ricciardo, Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton, in that order. Mercedes and Ferrari each had two drivers in the top five, with one for Red Bull.
Valtteri Bottas was fourth, 0.449 seconds behind the leader, while fifth-placed Lewis Hamilton was 0.659 seconds adrift.
Stoffel Vandoorne completed the top ten, 1.441 seconds slower than the session leader.
Valtteri Bottas and Pierre Gasly each completed 24 laps, the joint highest total, while Kevin Magnussen ran the fewest with ten.
At the lower end of the classification, Pierre Gasly was 16th, Jolyon Palmer 17th, Romain Grosjean 18th, Marcus Ericsson 19th and Pascal Wehrlein 20th. The times and completed lap counts in the table follow the official classification for this session.
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Time / Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kimi Räikkönen | Ferrari | 1:31.880 | 19 |
| 2 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | +0.162s | 14 |
| 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull | +0.211s | 16 |
| 4 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | +0.449s | 24 |
| 5 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | +0.659s | 20 |
| 6 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | +0.699s | 17 |
| 7 | Sergio Pérez | Force India | +1.329s | 20 |
| 8 | Felipe Massa | Williams | +1.360s | 20 |
| 9 | Esteban Ocon | Force India | +1.410s | 21 |
| 10 | Stoffel Vandoorne | McLaren | +1.441s | 16 |
| 11 | Fernando Alonso | McLaren | +1.650s | 17 |
| 12 | Lance Stroll | Williams | +1.658s | 21 |
| 13 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | +1.907s | 10 |
| 14 | Nico Hülkenberg | Renault | +1.991s | 14 |
| 15 | Carlos Sainz | Toro Rosso | +2.044s | 22 |
| 16 | Pierre Gasly | Toro Rosso | +2.326s | 24 |
| 17 | Jolyon Palmer | Renault | +2.595s | 12 |
| 18 | Romain Grosjean | Haas | +3.034s | 19 |
| 19 | Marcus Ericsson | Sauber | +3.056s | 19 |
| 20 | Pascal Wehrlein | Sauber | +3.165s | 19 |
