Oscar Piastri set a stunning pace to lead team-mate Lando Norris at the top of the timesheet as McLaren ominously blew their rivals away in final practice at the Bahrain Grand Prix, emphatically underlining their status as big favourites for qualifying.
Although final practice, like Friday’s opening session, is always less representative at Sakhir given it takes place in warmer daylight conditions compared to the floodlit evening sessions of qualifying and the race, McLaren’s superiority this weekend appears clear whatever the conditions.
The MCL39’s advantage proved to be especially pronounced in Practice Three.
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Piastri’s 1:31.646 time in the end-of-session qualifying simulations was 0.8s faster than the first non-McLaren car – Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who took third – and more than one second clear of the rest of the field.
Norris finished second but trailed his Australian team-mate by 0.668s after making an error on what should have been his quickest lap on soft tyres.
World champion Max Verstappen, who stunned McLaren last Saturday at Suzuka to claim pole but appears firmly up against it to stage a repeat here, was only eighth with Lewis Hamilton 10th in the second Ferrari.
And Yuki Tsunoda appears firmly on the back foot ahead of his second qualifying session for the main Red Bull team after a problematic session left him without a representative soft-tyre time in last place.
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Nico Hulkenberg is forced to stop out on track after suffering a technical issue with his Sauber and brings out the virtual safety car.
Mercedes pair George Russell, who had a spin at Turn 10, and Kimi Antonelli finished fourth and fifth respectively. But all of McLaren’s would-be rivals appear to have little answer to the papaya cars’ searing Bahrain pace ahead of the battle for pole position at 5pm.
“The philosophy of McLaren is not to showboat, it’s to perform when it matters,” said Sky Sports F1’s Karun Chandhok.
“When we get to qualifying the gap won’t be that big, but their car is working so well, that in the hotter temperatures they are able to generate grip and downforce and let the drivers do the lap time without overheating the tyres as much as other people. It’s less evil.”
In a weekend where they are chasing their first points of the season, Pierre Gasly showed promise for Alpine with the sixth-fastest time while Isack Hadjar continued to run strongly for Racing Bulls in seventh.
Williams’ Carlos Sainz and Ferrari’s Hamilton, who lapped 0.6s slower than Leclerc in their upgraded SF-25s, rounded out the top 10.
Bahrain GP Practice Three Timesheet
| Driver | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1) Oscar Piastri | McLaren | 1:31.646 |
| 2) Lando Norris | McLaren | +0.668 |
| 3) Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | +0.834 |
| 4) George Russell | Mercedes | +1.181 |
| 5) Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | +1.270 |
| 6) Pierre Gasly | Alpine | +1.328 |
| 7) Isack Hadjar | Racing Bulls | +1.377 |
| 8) Max Verstappen | Red Bull | +1.381 |
| 9) Carlos Sainz | Williams | +1.446 |
| 10) Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | +1.465 |
| 11) Esteban Ocon | Haas | +1.594 |
| 12) Jack Doohan | Alpine | +1.701 |
| 13) Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls | +1.724 |
| 14) Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | +1.902 |
| 15) Alex Albon | Williams | +2.107 |
| 16) Oliver Bearman | Haas | +2.689 |
| 17) Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | +2.717 |
| 18) Gabriel Bortoleto | Sauber | +2.872 |
| 19) Nico Hulkenberg | Sauber | +2.990 |
| 20) Yuki Tsunoda | Red Bull | +3.319 |
Sky Sports F1’s Bahrain GP Schedule
Saturday April 12
- 3.10pm: F2 Sprint
- 4.10pm: Bahrain GP Qualifying build-up
- 5pm: BAHRAIN GP QUALIFYING
- 7pm: Ted’s Qualifying Notebook
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Sky Sports F1’s Martin Brundle breaks down the best chances of winning the Bahrain Grand Prix
Sunday April 13
- 10.50am: F3 Feature Race
- 12.20pm: F2 Feature Race
- 2.30pm: Bahrain GP build-up: Grand Prix Sunday
- 4pm: THE BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX
- 6pm: Bahrain GP reaction: Chequered Flag
- 7pm: Ted’s Notebook
Formula 1 continues its triple-header in Sakhir at the Bahrain Grand Prix this weekend, live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports with NOW – No contract, cancel anytime
Samatha Schewe
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