Verstappen tops final Bahrain GP practice
Max Verstappen broke Mercedes’ stranglehold atop the timesheets in the final practice for the Bahrain GP.
Verstappen’s lap of 1m28.355s was 0.263s faster than Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes and 0.366s over the 2nd Mercedes of Valtteri Bottas.
Alex Albon, who crashed heavily Friday recovered to go 4th quick 0.663s behind his teammate. Carlos Sainz Jr. rounded out the top-5 for McLaren with Lando Norris seventh in the second McLaren.
Daniil Kvyat was eighth for AlphaTauri, ahead of Racing Point pair of Lance Stroll and Sergio Perez.
The Ferrari drivers finished 13th and 15th, with Sebastian Vettel ahead of Charles Leclerc.
In qualifying trim, McLaren and AlphaTauri lead the midfield contenders, with Sainz in fifth and Pierre Gasly in sixth.
Practice 3 Results
POS | NO | DRIVER | CAR | TIME | GAP | LAPS |
1 | 33 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing Honda | 1:28.355 | +0.000s | 11 |
2 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:28.618 | +0.263s | 12 |
3 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | 1:28.721 | +0.366s | 14 |
4 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Red Bull Racing Honda | 1:29.018 | +0.663s | 12 |
5 | 55 | Carlos Sainz Jr. | McLaren Renault | 1:29.455 | +1.100s | 12 |
6 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | AlphaTauri Honda | 1:29.472 | +1.117s | 16 |
7 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren Renault | 1:29.567 | +1.212s | 8 |
8 | 26 | Daniil Kvyat | AlphaTauri Honda | 1:29.585 | +1.230s | 17 |
9 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Racing Point BWT Mercedes | 1:29.660 | +1.305s | 13 |
10 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Racing Point BWT Mercedes | 1:29.672 | +1.317s | 12 |
11 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | Renault | 1:29.684 | +1.329s | 9 |
12 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Renault | 1:29.691 | +1.336s | 11 |
13 | 5 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 1:29.859 | +1.504s | 15 |
14 | 99 | Antonio Giovinazzi | Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari | 1:29.970 | +1.615s | 10 |
15 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:30.183 | +1.828s | 14 |
16 | 63 | George Russell | Williams Mercedes | 1:30.559 | +2.204s | 16 |
17 | 8 | Romain Grosjean | Haas Ferrari | 1:30.652 | +2.297s | 16 |
18 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas Ferrari | 1:30.759 | +2.404s | 12 |
19 | 7 | Kimi Räikkönen | Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari | 1:30.823 | +2.468s | 16 |
20 | 6 | Nicholas Latifi | Williams Mercedes | 1:30.917 | +2.562s | 19 |