Bahrain – Free Practice 3: Ferrari easily dominates
Very calm session at the Sakhir circuit. This last daytime session was relatively underused by the teams, as the rest of the weekend is taking place at night. Ferrari was still on point, placing both drivers at the top of the timesheets. The Mercedes remain in pursuit.
After dominating the two practice sessions, Ferrari now has to confirm that their cars are competitive during this final stage before tackling the qualifying. Lurking in the background, we are entitled to wonder if Mercedes is bluffing, and only the stopwatch will decide.
The session takes place during the day, under the sun of the Bahrain desert. The temperatures are 37.5°C on the ground and 25°C in the air. Although more moderate than during FP1, these are completely different from those that will frame the qualifying and the race, which are held at night.
3 PM in Sakhir and Antonio Giovinazzi opens the session for an hour of testing.
The Ferraris are the first to complete a lap on soft tires, alone on the track. Right from the start, Sebastian Vettel leads his teammate by just over a tenth with a time of 1:31.617.
FP3 (15/60 mins): It’s been a quiet start to the final practice session with only five timed laps set so far
TOP 5
VET 📸
LEC
RAI
RIC
GIO#BahrainGP 🇧🇭 #F1 pic.twitter.com/crc2qWS93r— Formula 1 (@F1) 30 mars 2019
The few single-seaters that took part in the tests are sliding a lot on the Sakhir tarmac.
The start of the session is very calm, confirming that daytime conditions are not ideal for adjustments.
As the session approaches its midpoint, the times improve and Valtteri Bottas, equipped with red-walled tires, takes the provisional fastest time with 1:31.169.
🇧🇭 Bahrain Grand Prix #FP3🚦🏁
Early in the session, but starting as we mean to continue..@ValtteriBottas goes quickest with a 1:31.169 – Nice work #VB77
@MercedesAMGF1 #PETRONASmotorsports #BahrainGP pic.twitter.com/TAKpQKYjZX— PETRONAS Motorsports (@PET_Motorsports) 30 mars 2019
His teammate, despite difficulties in stabilizing his single-seater, quickly improves the Finnish driver’s time to 1:31.016.
Hülkenberg confirms his good form at the moment by securing a provisional podium in the times, just over half a second behind the Mercedes.
Session opening for Verstappen, and the Dutchman quickly grabs the fastest time with 1:30.959, while his teammate Pierre Gasly lags behind after completing a lap in 1:32.135.
20 minutes before the end of the session, the Ferraris are back in the arena, equipped with new soft tires.
Leclerc quickly sets a time of 1:29:569, relegating the pursuers to more than a second and a half behind. His German teammate also finishes his lap but remains two-tenths behind the Monegasque.
Last minutes of the session and a battle unfolds between Haas and Renault for the access to the timing board. The French driver wins the duel by a narrow tenth. The fight is just beginning between these two teams.
FP3 (60/60 MINS): @ScuderiaFerrari have the edge heading into qualifying#BahrainGP 🇧🇭 #F1 pic.twitter.com/PqV8LRDEnv
— Formula 1 (@F1) 30 mars 2019
