Bahrain tests Day 3: Ferrari fastest by a hair over Mercedes. Red Bull hides
At the end of the third and final day of winter testing, here's a summary of what happened on track on Friday.
Like yesterday, the morning was rather quiet on the Bahrain side. Carlos Sainz Jr. set the best time of the session on medium tires with 1:31.247.
But just like yesterday, a red flag interrupted the session for about an hour. The same evacuation plate lifted as Red Bull’s Sergio Pérez passed through, and Adrian Newey himself went to check if the RB20’s floor was not damaged.
The FIA then decided to remove the lunch break, and the teams had to adjust the settings of their respective cars to accommodate their second driver. For a good part of the afternoon, the drivers completed race stints.
During the day, the drivers increased the pace and Charles Leclerc, who took the wheel of the Ferrari, set the fastest time of the day on the softest C5 tyres, with a time of 1:30.322. Max Verstappen, on the other hand, continued to drive on medium tyres and placed more than four tenths behind Leclerc.
At the end of the day, with nightfall in Bahrain, some drivers switched to the C4 tires and closed in on Charles Leclerc. George Russell and Guanyu Zhou took advantage of this to finish second and third.
The ranking of the third and final day of pre-season testing 2024.
| N° | Driver | Team | Times | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Leclerc | Scuderia Ferrari | 1:30.322 | 74 | |
| 2 | Russell | Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport | 1:30.368 | +0.046 | 67 |
| 3 | Guanyu | Stake F1 Team | 1:30.647 | +0.325 | 85 |
| 4 | Verstappen | Oracle Red Bull Racing | 1:30.755 | +0.433 | 66 |
| 5 | Tsunoda | Visa Cash App RB Formula One Team | 1:30.775 | +0.453 | 53 |
| 6 | Albon | Williams Racing | 1:30.984 | +0.662 | 121 |
| 7 | Piastri | McLaren F1 Team | 1:31.030 | +0.708 | 91 |
| 8 | Alonso | Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team | 1:31.159 | +0.837 | 75 |
| 9 | Sainz | Scuderia Ferrari | 1:31.247 | +0.925 | 71 |
| 10 | Perez | Oracle Red Bull Racing | 1:31.483 | +1.161 | 53 |
| 11 | Hülkenberg | MoneyGram Haas F1 Team | 1:31.686 | +1.364 | 89 |
| 12 | Hamilton | Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport | 1:31.999 | +1.677 | 49 |
| 13 | Stroll | Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team | 1:32.038 | +1.716 | 46 |
| 14 | Norris | McLaren F1 Team | 1:32.108 | +1.786 | 20 |
| 15 | Gasly | BWT Alpine F1 Team | 1:32.149 | +1.827 | 47 |
| 16 | Magnussen | MoneyGram Haas F1 Team | 1:33.053 | +2.731 | 80 |
| 17 | Ocon | BWT Alpine F1 Team | 1:33.079 | +2.757 | 55 |
| 18 | Bottas | Stake F1 Team | 1:33.528 | +3.206 | 28 |
| 19 | Ricciardo | Visa Cash App RB Formula One Team | 1:37.015 | +6.693 | 70 |
