Sainz Tops Final Practice in Bahrain Grand Prix, Alonso and Verstappen Close Behind

Carlos Sainz Jr from Ferrari emerged as the leader in the third and final practice session for the Bahrain Grand Prix, with Fernando Alonso from Aston Martin closely following, creating a Spanish one-two. The session, which took place during the day, had significantly different track temperatures compared to the expected conditions for qualifying later in the day. Lewis Hamilton, who was the fastest in the previous session, initially set the benchmark time of 1:32.733s using soft tires. Sainz and Charles Leclerc from Ferrari then took to the track and recorded times close to Hamilton’s. Alonso eventually claimed first place halfway through the session with a time of 1:31.582s. Red Bull took a different approach, using hard tires, and Max Verstappen ended up 1.4s behind Alonso’s time. Towards the end of the session, Red Bull switched to soft tires, and Verstappen managed to secure the fastest lap, with Sergio Perez also performing well. However, Sainz ultimately set the fastest time of 1:30.824s, with Alonso in second place, 0.141s behind, and Verstappen in third, 0.238s behind Sainz.