Bahrain Grand Prix – Free Practice 3: Verstappen the Trouble Marker before Qualifying
Max Verstappen in the Red Bull set the fastest time in Free Practice 3 in preparation for the Bahrain Grand Prix qualifying. The best times were set on soft tires this morning.
After his big crash in the last corner, Alex Albon gave his mechanics quite a bit of work to rebuild his car. The good news for the Thai driver is that they managed to give him a fully usable car this morning for Free Practice 3.
It is worth noting that the track gets dirty very quickly and a layer of sand/dust has settled on the track overnight. Most drivers therefore delay their warm-up laps as much as possible to let other drivers clean the track.
It is therefore Räikkönen and Latifi who set the first timed laps after 13 minutes of the session in nearly 1’32”.
The last 15 minutes of FP3 saw teams preparing for qualifying on soft tires, with Bottas setting the fastest lap ahead of Verstappen’s Red Bull, before being overtaken by Hamilton. Verstappen ultimately set the fastest time – 10 minutes before the end of the session, with a time of 1:28.355, three-tenths ahead of Hamilton’s Mercedes.
Great performance by AlphaTauri, both in the Top 10, which bodes well for good qualifications for the Frenchman Pierre Gasly.
Results of Free Practice 3 of the Bahrain Grand Prix:
| N° | Driver | Team | Times | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Verstappen | Aston Martin Red Bull Racing | 1:28.355 | 11 | |
| 2 | Hamilton | Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport | 1:28.618 | +0.263 | 12 |
| 3 | Bottas | Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport | 1:28.721 | +0.366 | 14 |
| 4 | Albon | Aston Martin Red Bull Racing | 1:29.018 | +0.663 | 12 |
| 5 | Sainz Jr. | McLaren F1 Team | 1:29.455 | +1.100 | 12 |
| 6 | Gasly | Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda | 1:29.472 | +1.117 | 16 |
| 7 | Norris | McLaren F1 Team | 1:29.567 | +1.212 | 8 |
| 8 | Kvyat | Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda | 1:29.585 | +1.230 | 17 |
| 9 | Stroll | BWT Racing Point F1 Team | 1:29.660 | +1.305 | 13 |
| 10 | Perez | BWT Racing Point F1 Team | 1:29.672 | +1.317 | 12 |
| 11 | Ricciardo | Renault DP World F1 Team | 1:29.684 | +1.329 | 9 |
| 12 | Ocon | Renault DP World F1 Team | 1:29.691 | +1.336 | 11 |
| 13 | Vettel | Scuderia Ferrari | 1:29.859 | +1.504 | 15 |
| 14 | Giovinazzi | Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN | 1:29.970 | +1.615 | 10 |
| 15 | Leclerc | Scuderia Ferrari | 1:30.183 | +1.828 | 14 |
| 16 | Russell | Williams Racing | 1:30.559 | +2.204 | 16 |
| 17 | Grosjean | Haas F1 Team | 1:30.652 | +2.297 | 16 |
| 18 | Magnussen | Haas F1 Team | 1:30.759 | +2.404 | 12 |
| 19 | Räikkönen | Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN | 1:30.823 | +2.468 | 16 |
| 20 | Latifi | Williams Racing | 1:30.917 | +2.562 | 19 |
