Charles Leclerc kept Ferrari on top on final day of F1 2024 Bahrain Test, with George Russell and Zhou Guanyu in second and third.
Like it was on Day 2, the Day 3 in F1 2024 Bahrain Test also saw red flag stoppage in the early hours of running when the drain cover came lose at the same spot. It took hours for them to repair as the decision was taken to cancel the lunch break.
They then switched the clock to run straight until 19:00 local time which it did smoothly without any stoppage then after. Ferrari remained on top for the second consecutive day, this time courtesy Leclerc who set a 1m30.322s lap on the C5 compound.
He set the lap quite early in the session, as Mercedes’ Russell came close to him to be second by 0.046s. The Brit set a 1m30.368s lap on the C4 compound, towards the end of the day, which was the same for Stake F1 Team’s Guanyu (1m30.647s).
His lap on C4 came just as F1 went to test the Virtual Safety Car, Safety Car and Red Flag system. The quick laps from Russell and Guanyu dropped Red Bull’s Max Verstappen to fourth, who showed good pace, having set his time on C3 compound.
The pair of Visa Cash App RB’s Yuki Tsunoda and Williams’ Alexander Albon slotted in fifth and sixth after late improvements on the C4 compound. McLaren’s Oscar Piastri was seventh after the Australian managed big chunk of running unlike Lando Norris.
Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso was eighth from Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, with Red Bull’s Sergio Perez rounding the Top 10. Haas’ Nico Hulkenberg was 11th from Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton, who set his best time on the C4 compound early in the day.
Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll was 13th from McLaren’s Norris, who couldn’t run much due to a problem that needed fixing. Alpine’s Pierre Gasly was 15th after his day ended a bit early after the wheel cover on the front-right broke off on one of his laps.
His teammate Esteban Ocon was 17th behind Haas’ Kevin Magnussen, as Stake F1 Team’s Valtteri Bottas was 18th and Visa Cash App RB’s Daniel Ricciardo 19th, where the Australian set his best time on the C1 compound.
Here’s what the drivers said after Day 2 of F1 2024 Bahrain Test
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