McLaren`s Oscar Piastri demonstrated impressive speed, leading his teammate Lando Norris in the final practice session for the Bahrain Grand Prix. The McLaren team strongly indicated their potential for a dominant qualifying performance by outpacing their competitors.
While final practice, similar to the first Friday session, might not fully reflect the conditions of the evening qualifying and race due to being held in warmer daytime temperatures at Sakhir, McLaren`s competitive edge this weekend seems evident regardless of the time of day.
The advantage of the MCL39 car was particularly noticeable during Practice Three.
Piastri`s best lap time of 1:31.646 in the qualifying simulations was significantly faster, by 0.8 seconds, than Charles Leclerc of Ferrari, who was third fastest. The time was also more than a second quicker than the majority of the field.
Norris secured second place, but finished 0.668 seconds behind his Australian teammate after a mistake on what should have been his fastest lap using soft tyres.
World champion Max Verstappen, who previously triumphed over McLaren to take pole position in Suzuka, appears to face a greater challenge in Bahrain. He finished only eighth, while Lewis Hamilton was tenth.
Yuki Tsunoda also faces pressure heading into qualifying for Red Bull`s main team, as a problematic session left him at the bottom of the timings without a representative soft-tyre lap time.
Bahrain GP Practice Three Timesheet
| Driver | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1) Oscar Piastri | McLaren | 1:31.646 |
| 2) Lando Norris | McLaren | +0.668 |
| 3) Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | +0.834 |
| 4) George Russell | Mercedes | +1.181 |
| 5) Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | +1.270 |
| 6) Pierre Gasly | Alpine | +1.328 |
| 7) Isack Hadjar | Racing Bulls | +1.377 |
| 8) Max Verstappen | Red Bull | +1.381 |
| 9) Carlos Sainz | Williams | +1.446 |
| 10) Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | +1.465 |
| 11) Esteban Ocon | Haas | +1.594 |
| 12) Jack Doohan | Alpine | +1.701 |
| 13) Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls | +1.724 |
| 14) Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | +1.902 |
| 15) Alex Albon | Williams | +2.107 |
| 16) Oliver Bearman | Haas | +2.689 |
| 17) Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | +2.717 |
| 18) Gabriel Bortoleto | Sauber | +2.872 |
| 19) Nico Hulkenberg | Sauber | +2.990 |
| 20) Yuki Tsunoda | Red Bull | +3.319 |
Bahrain GP Weekend Schedule
- 3.10pm: F2 Sprint
- 4.10pm: Bahrain GP Qualifying build-up
- 5pm: BAHRAIN GP QUALIFYING
- 7pm: Ted`s Qualifying Notebook
- 10.50am: F3 Feature Race
- 12.20pm: F2 Feature Race
- 2.30pm: Bahrain GP build-up: Grand Prix Sunday
- 4pm: THE BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX
- 6pm: Bahrain GP reaction: Chequered Flag
- 7pm: Ted`s Notebook
Formula 1 continues in Sakhir at the Bahrain Grand Prix this weekend.
