Fernando Alonso retained the top spot in the FP3 session of F1 Bahrain GP from Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez.

With conditions not useful for teams and drivers in terms of qualifying and race, Aston Martin’s Alonso (1m32.340s) retained the top spot in FP3 session of F1 Bahrain GP weekend by 0.005s over Red Bull’s Verstappen (1m32.345s)

The final sector making the difference for Alonso, as the Top 3 was rounded by Perez (1m32.446s) with Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton doing a better job in fourth from Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc where the Italian manufacturer did two runs on the soft compound.

Red Bull ran the hard tyres for their first run in a different strategy. The other Mercedes of George Russell was sixth from Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll, with Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz only eighth. It was a better run from McLaren’s Oscar Piastri too in ninth.

A late push lap from Alpine’s Pierre Gasly put him in 10th ahead of teammate Esteban Ocon. Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu was 12th from the other McLaren’s Lando Norris. The Haas pair slotted behind the Brit after a late soft tyre run too.

It was Kevin Magnussen ahead of Nico Hulkenberg this time in 14th and 15th, with AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda in 16th ahead of Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas and the two Williams cars where Logan Sargeant was ahead in 18th.

Struggling with brake issues, Alexander Albon was 19th while AlphaTauri’s Nyck de Vries was only 20th in further frustrations. After some offs from few on Friday, it was smooth sailing for everyone in FP3 with no troubles or incidents in hot conditions.

Here’s what drivers said after Friday of F1 Bahrain GP

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