Max Verstappen was fastest in the final practice session, claiming a hat-trick of top spots at the Bahrain Grand Prix.
Track temperatures had gone up to highs of fifty degrees and most drivers opted to come out later in the session.
The hot temperatures hadn’t dampened Red Bull Racing’s weekend at all, and they are the ones currently looking at coming out on top come the chequered flag at tomorrow’s race. Sergio Pérez continued to improve, coming fifth overall.
Lewis Hamilton pushed himself again but still cannot beat Verstappen. He finished in second with Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team colleague Valtteri Bottas coming in fourth.
Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda broke curfew last night fixing Yuki Tsunoda’s car. The Japanese driver pitted ten minutes before the end of Friday’s second practice session with an issue. The team are yet to release what was wrong with the car beside saying it was a large fix. Tsunoda finished in thirteenth with teammate Pierre Gasly flying high in third.
Charles Leclerc had a spin at Turn 3. Luckily, he didn’t occur any damage and was able to continue on. He wasn’t able to match his Scuderia Ferrari team-mate in getting a top ten lap. He finished in eleventh with Carlos Sainz Jr. sixth fastest.
Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN are continuing to impress, and it won’t be too much of a surprise if they can get one of their cars in to Q3. Both Kimi Räikkönen and Antonio Giovinazzi have been floating around the top ten across all three sessions. They came seventh and twelfth respectively.
Alpine F1 Team haven’t showed their true potential so far this weekend. The team have been used to top ten positions over the past couple of years but have struggled to break through so far. Esteban Ocon finished eighth fastest with Fernando Alonso down in fifteenth.
Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team really need to step up a gear if they want to be competing for podiums like last year. Lance Stroll managed a top ten time in ninth place, but Sebastian Vettel floated lower. Vettel was struck on his visor by something coming off the front left of his car, reducing the amount of time he had during the session. He came fifteenth fastest.
McLaren F1 Team didn’t have as great of a session and the previous two and we hope that’s not going to replicate in qualifying. Daniel Ricciardo came in tenth with Lando Norris in sixteenth.
George Russell and Nicholas Latifi still aren’t having a great time in the Williams Racing car. They’ve floated around the bottom in all three sessions. They came seventeenth and twentieth respectively. Rookie drivers Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin also continued to be two drivers occupying the lower end of the table. Uralkali Haas F1 Team duo finished eighteenth and nineteenth respectively.
Bahrain Grand Prix – Practice 3 results
| Pos | No | Driver | Nat. | Team | Time | Gap | Laps |
| 1 | 33 | Max Verstappen | NED | Red Bull Racing Honda | 1:30.577 | 11 | |
| 2 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | GBR | Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team | 1:31.316 | +0.739s | 14 |
| 3 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | FRA | Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda | 1:31.583 | +1.006s | 13 |
| 4 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | FIN | Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team | 1:31.855 | +1.278s | 16 |
| 5 | 11 | Sergio Pérez | MEX | Red Bull Racing Honda | 1:31.908 | +1.331s | 11 |
| 6 | 55 | Carlos Sainz Jr. | ESP | Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow | 1:32.108 | +1.531s | 16 |
| 7 | 7 | Kimi Räikkönen | FIN | Alfa Romeo Racing Orlen | 1:32.224 | +1.647s | 15 |
| 8 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | FRA | Alpine F1 Team | 1:32.423 | +1.846s | 11 |
| 9 | 18 | Lance Stroll | CAN | Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team | 1:32.431 | +1.854s | 13 |
| 10 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | AUS | McLaren F1 Team | 1:32.477 | +1.900s | 12 |
| 11 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | MON | Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow | 1:32.482 | +1.905s | 17 |
| 12 | 99 | Antonio Giovinazzi | ITA | Alfa Romeo Racing Orlen | 1:32.500 | +1.923s | 11 |
| 13 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | JAP | Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda | 1:32.709 | +2.132s | 15 |
| 14 | 5 | Sebastian Vettel | GER | Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team | 1:32.755 | +2.178s | 15 |
| 15 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | ESP | Alpine F1 Team | 1:32.820 | +2.243s | 15 |
| 16 | 4 | Lando Norris | GBR | McLaren F1 Team | 1:32.860 | +2.283s | 10 |
| 17 | 63 | George Russell | GBR | Williams Racing | 1:33.323 | +2.746s | 14 |
| 18 | 47 | Mick Schumacher | GER | Uralkali Haas F1 Team | 1:33.422 | +2.845s | 14 |
| 19 | 9 | Nikita Mazepin | RUS | Uralkali Haas F1 Team | 1:33.622 | +3.045s | 14 |
| 20 | 6 | Nicholas Latifi | CAN | Williams Racing | 1:33.959 | +3.382s | 16 |
