Bahrain Grand Prix – Free Practice 3: Verstappen confirms his dominance

It is on a 38-degree track that the drivers began the final practice session of the weekend in order to fine-tune the settings of their car before the qualifiers.

Is Mercedes really struggling?

Since the winter testing in Bahrain, Mercedes seems to be struggling with their aerodynamic concept, which is radically different from the other cars in the field. This was evident in the fact that Lewis Hamilton was one of the first drivers to hit the track, a choice usually made by teams at the back of the pack.

However, at the end of the session, both Mercedes raised their level by achieving the 2nd and 4th best times in favor of George Russell.

At the end of the session, the former Williams driver was only 4 tenths behind the reigning world champion in 4th position. His garage neighbor, on the other hand, was slightly struggling in 6th place, being the last driver from the top 3 teams.

Ferrari and Red Bull neck and neck.

After 20 minutes of the session, the two Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz were at the top of the timesheet. A very temporary domination of the clock. Indeed, Max Verstappen crushed the competition by completing a lap 7 tenths of a second faster than that of the Monegasque.

If the performance was there for the driver of the Ferrari number 16, the session was not without mishaps. Indeed, halfway through the session, the two-time Grand Prix winner lost his car at turn 11. Fortunately for him, he managed to extricate himself from the gravel trap and make his way back to the Ferrari garage.

It is Max Verstappen who ultimately finishes Free Practice 3 as the fastest, with a time of 1’32’544, only one-tenth of a second faster than Charles Leclerc.

It was with 9 minutes remaining that Sergio Perez set the 3rd best lap time, just 2 and a half tenths behind his teammate.

The best of the rest

Alfa Romeo confirms their good form since the beginning of the weekend with Bottas and Zhou achieving the 8th and 9th best laps. And what if Alfa Romeo was the surprise of the year and could establish themselves as the best among the others in 2022?

Very impressive performance from Kevin Magnussen as well, who, despite being away from the Formula 1 world for 1 year, managed to set the 7th fastest lap in this Free Practice 3 session. The Danish driver is only three tenths of a second behind Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes.

The customer teams of Ferrari are in very good shape at the beginning of this 2022 season.

FP3 Table: