Ferrari stayed on top in the final practice of F1 Bahrain GP with Charles Leclerc heading Sebastian Vettel and Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton.
Ferrari left it late to set the pace in the final practice session of Bahrain GP at Bahrain International Circuit with Leclerc (1m29.596s) getting back ahead of Vettel (1m29.738s) after being beaten by the German in FP2 session.
The two Ferrari drivers were the only ones to dip into the 1m29s bracket with the Mercedes duo leaving it much late than Ferrari even to set their quick times as Hamilton (1m30.334s) ended up third from Valtteri Bottas (1m30.389s).
The session though is not representative with the conditions in qualifying and race to be different considering the use of floodlights. Even though Ferrari said they ran a slightly higher engine mode on Friday, the team looks to be in a good position.
Haas’ Romain Grosjean (1m30.818s) ended as the best of the rest in fifth with a late lap like the Mercedes drivers and most others in the field with Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg (1m30.910s) in sixth ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris (1m30.955s).
They all pushed Red Bull Racing Honda’s Max Verstappen (1m30.959s) to eighth in the order with McLaren’s Carlos Sainz (130.965s) slotting in ninth from Toro Rosso’s Daniil Kvyat (1m31.173s) in the Top 10.
The changed order meant Alfa Romeo Racing’s Kimi Raikkonen (1m31.333s) missed out in the Top 10 with Red Bull’s Pierre Gasly (1m31.392s) having a tough run to be only 12th from Haas’ Kevin Magnussen (1m31.540s).
The Racing Point duo had a better run with Lance Stroll (1m31.618s) in 14th ahead of Sergio Perez (1m31.638s) as Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo’s (1m31.643s) struggle with balance and set-up continued with him only 16th.
After a better run on Friday, Toro Rosso’s Alexander Albon (1m31.679s) found it a bit tough to be 17th ahead of Alfa Romeo’s Antonio Giovinazzi (1m32.132s) and the Williams’s duo of George Russell (1m33.387s) and Robert Kubica (1m33.525s).
Check out how Bahrain GP FP1 and FP2 sessions went
Here’s what the teams and drivers said after Friday running