It turned out to be a nice final training session on the Bahrain International Circuit, where it was actually expected that the teams had left the preparations for qualifying behind them. Nothing was further from the truth, because the drivers came out on softs very early on. Max Verstappen shot out of the starting blocks and immediately settled at the top of the times list, while Charles Leclerc started his training with a big push.
But in the second part of the training it went even harder. Here it was Mercedes that made itself heard for the first time this season via first Lewis Hamilton and a little later George Russell. In the end, however, it was again Verstappen (1.32.544) and Leclerc (96 thousandths behind) who ruled the desert state. Remarkable third was Sergio Pérez, who had to deal with braking problems yesterday but was now in good shape. Russell was the best Mercedes at about four tenths of Verstappen, Hamilton had to make do with P6.
With drivers from six different teams again, it promises to be an interesting qualifying on several fronts. And who will grab the first pole position of the year? Will it be Max Verstappen, a Ferrari driver or will Mercedes conjure up a rabbit out of the top hat?
