The first day in Bahrain laid the foundations for an exciting weekend of racing, with Mercedes leading at the end of the first day of free practice, also aided by aggressive engine mapping. The Brackley team scored a rather interesting double in the session afternoon. However, the game is still open, and above all there are those who are perhaps still playing cards face down. Ferrari experimented a lot to find the right balance in order to extract the maximum potential from the SF-24, while Red Bull focused on a brilliant Max Verstappen. However, attention now shifts to free practice 3, the last opportunity before qualifying, to clearly outline the hierarchies on the track. Let's see what happened in these last 60 minutes and how it will affect the first qualifying of the season.
Let's first give a brief overview of the situation at the end of the first two free practice sessions.
The first sensations in Bahrain
The fight between the top teams promises close battles. Mercedes concluded the first day of free practice in Bahrain with a remarkable performance, securing a one-two in the afternoon sessions. Lewis Hamilton took the best lap, but George Russell also confirmed the competitiveness of the new W15. The seven-time World Champion maintained cautious optimism, recognizing the gap with Red Bull in race pace and underlining the need to stay focused.
At Ferrari, however, the situation has slightly reversed compared to the tests, thanks to the many evaluations to be made on the SF-24. Charles Leclerc highlighted the need to work on balance, but confirms that the SF-24 has shown improvements, especially in response to wind. Frédéric Vasseur, the team principal, said he was satisfied with the progress made, highlighting corrections made on crucial aspects such as degradation and wind sensitivity.
La Red Bull kept a low profile still preferring a conservative approach, but obtaining positive results both on the single lap and on the race pace. Max Verstappen has demonstrated high-level consistency, placing himself at the top of the list of favorites for Saturday's Grand Prix. The RB20, balanced and improved in slow corners, faced some wind-related challenges.
Further back, we find McLaren and Aston Martin, two Mercedes-powered cars that have shown contrasting data. McLaren appeared solid in the long run, with good tire management and a constant pace, while Aston Martin seemed stronger on the flying lap, also due to a more aggressive mapping. Both teams, albeit with different characteristics, are part of the fight between the top teams, contributing to a panorama of tight competition.
The story of free practice 3 in Bahrain
In the first 10 minutes there is not much activity. The first to take to the track a few minutes into the session was in fact Lewis Hamilton who set a time of 1'32"773 on soft tyres. The two from Ferrari also follow him, always with the same compound, the two Stakes and George Russell who takes the lead of the group. Just like yesterday the track is gradually improving and everyone is on track with the soft tyres, except for the two Red Bulls of Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez who do a different job with the hard tyres. However, the two Red Bull squires are not very satisfied with the behavior of the RB20, and complain, especially Perez, about the shifting problems, already highlighted yesterday by the Dutchman.
After the first half hour the situation is stable, Aston Martin leads the group with Fernando Alonso followed by Russell and Leclerc 2 and 4 tenths behind, and Yuki Tsunoda fourth between the two Ferraris. Everyone at this stage still works with soft tires, both new and used. The last quarter of an hour of these free practice 3 in Bahrain is dedicated to the qualifying simulation. The two Red Bull drivers who until now had not yet taken to the track with the soft tires did so too. The first to launch is Sergio Perez, who overthrows Fernando Alonso, with a time of 1:31.248, 3 tenths faster than the Spaniard. Verstappen also responds, further lowering his teammate's time, trailing him by around 1 tenth. 1-2 Red Bull then, waiting to see the laps of the rest of the group.
And the first to battle with Red Bull is precisely the one who until a few minutes earlier had the lead over the rest of the standings, namely Fernando Alonso. The Spaniard, thanks to a really good AMR24 on the fastest lap, lowered the Dutchman's time to one minute and 30. A mistake at the end instead for Norris, who still took advantage of an excellent central sector that brought him closer to Verstappen. Alpine is in difficulty, unable to go beyond P18 with Gasly, while Ocon occupies P20. Carlos Sainz also joins the party of fast laps, taking the lead with 5 tenth of an advantage over Alonso with 1 minutes to go. However, his teammate Charles Leclerc did not do very well and ended his attempt in P4.
The top 10 of the last free practice session ahead of qualifying which will start at 17 pm therefore sees the following ranking:
Carlos Sainz
Fernando Alonso
Max Verstappen
Charles Leclerc
Lando Norris
George Russell
Oscar piastri
Sergio Perez
Nico Hulkenberg
Lance stroll
