Verstappen top in FP3, Leclerc a few thousandths

The Ferraris of Charles and Sainz always in the top positions in the free thirds of the Bahrain GP at the Sakhir circuit. Hamilton sixth

The sessions change, the sensations do not change in the F1 Bahrain GP: the Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz remain in the very first positions even after FP3. Behind Max Verstappen, outgoing champion and the fastest in the third Free Practice session, the Monegasque is placed, while the Spaniard is fifth. Third Perez, sixth the seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton.

Ferrari confirmations

The Red Bulls have always been competitive throughout the session, like Ferrari: the two teams are the best in terms of overall results and continuity of performance, and they exchanged top positions during FP3 in Bahrain, where in the meantime compared to Friday the wind seems to have dropped. Verstappen finished in 1’32 “544 on soft tires, but Leclerc is just 96 thousandths ahead of Perez’s other Red Bull three tenths behind his teammate. Sainz, fifth, set a best time of half a second slower than the 2021 champion, also behind the first of the two Mercedes. But beyond the position in the FP3, it is the consistency of the Ferrari that represents the best signal for Maranello: fast, constant, with less porpoising than the competition. di Leclerc – who ended up on the sand but hit the barriers with the F1-75 – interrupted the rhythm of the reds.

mercedes

About the Toto Wolff team. The best W13 after FP3 was that of George Russell, fourth at 4 tenths from Verstappen. Sixth Hamilton, who complained of hopping problems and never found the square, although for some situations he was the fastest at the start of the session. Before the third session on the W13 the old bottom used in the previous tests was mounted.

ferrari engine

The goodness of Ferrari performance is also confirmed by the teams powered by Maranello. Magnussen’s Haas seventh, Bottas and Zhou eighth and ninth with Alfa Romeo: there are five Ferrari powertrains in the top ten. One more sign, waiting for the tests. Stopped in the pits and skipped session for Tsunoda with the AlphaTauri, due to hydraulic problems.

fp3 rankings

These are the times of the third Free Practice of the Bahrain GP:

  1. Verstappen (Ola – Red Bull) 1: 32.544
  2. Leclerc (Mon – Ferrari) +0.096
  3. Perez (Mes-Red Bull) +0.247
  4. Russell (Gb – Mercedes) +0.391
  5. Sainz (Spa – Ferrari) +0.509
  6. Hamilton (Gbr – Mercedes) +0.577
  7. Magnussen (Dan – Haas) +0.893
  8. Bottas (Fin – Alfa Romeo) +1.189
  9. Zhou (Cin – Alfa Romeo) +1.336
  10. Stroll (Can – Aston Martin) +1.376
  11. Norris (Gbr – McLaren) +1.411
  12. Hulkenberg (Ger – Aston Martin) +1.427
  13. Gasly (Fra – Alpha Tauri) +1.632
  14. Schumacher (Ger – Haas) +1.751
  15. Ricciardo (Aus – McLaren) +1.834
  16. Alonso (Spa – Alpine) +2.084
  17. Albon (Tha – Williams) +2.324
  18. Ocon (Fra – Alpine) +2.413
  19. Latifi (Can – Williams) +3.123
  20. Tsunoda (Giap – Alpha Tauri)



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