On the concluding day of testing at the Bahrain International Circuit, Charles Leclerc led the pack, surpassing Russell and Zhou Guanyu from Sauber.
The morning session of the third day was once again marred by a broken drain cover, which disrupted proceedings for the second consecutive day.
Here are the results from Day 3 of the 2024 Bahrain F1 test:
Charles Leclerc set the fastest time of the day, clocking in at 1m30.322s on the C4 tire compound. This compound won’t be utilized during the upcoming Bahrain Grand Prix weekend.
George Russell also opted for the C4 tires for his final run, falling short by just 0.046s behind Leclerc’s time. Zhou Guanyu followed suit, trailing within three-tenths of a second of their pace.
Leclerc’s impressive time was 0.433s faster than that of Red Bull’s reigning world champion Max Verstappen, who had topped the timesheets on the opening day with a time of 1m30.755s on the C3 compound, the soft tire designated for the season opener.
Yuki Tsunoda secured the fifth spot for Red Bull’s junior team, RB, also on C4s, followed by Alex Albon (Williams), Oscar Piastri (McLaren), and Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin).
Carlos Sainz’s 1m29.921s, achieved on the C4 tire during the previous day’s running, remained the quickest time of the week. However, he only participated in the morning session on Day 3 and settled for ninth place.
In the morning session of Day 3, the final day of testing, action came to a halt after just 27 minutes when a drain cover came loose near Turn 11, the same spot where another drain had caused disruption the day before.
It appeared that Red Bull’s Sergio Perez ran over the loose drain cover but fortunately avoided major damage to his car. The session was halted for 1 hour and 17 minutes for repairs and checks across the track.
Carlos Sainz set the pace during this disrupted session with a time of 1m31.247s, followed by Perez with a gap of 0.236s, and Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) trailing a further half a second behind.
McLaren faced limitations, with Lando Norris completing only 20 laps due to a suspected clutch issue, while Valtteri Bottas managed just 28 laps for Sauber as the team worked on the car’s floor and rear end.
Here are the results from the morning session of Day 3:
1. Carlos Sainz – Ferrari – 1:31.247 – 61 laps – C3
2. Sergio Perez – Red Bull Racing – 1:31.483 – 43 laps – C3
3. Lewis Hamilton – Mercedes – 1:31.999 – 48 laps – C5
4. Lance Stroll – Aston Martin – 1:32.038 – 46 laps – C3
5. Lando Norris – McLaren – 1:32.108 – 20 laps – C3
6. Alexander Albon – Williams – 1:32.583 – 32 laps – C3
7. Kevin Magnussen – Haas – 1:33.053 – 78 laps – C3
8. Esteban Ocon – Alpine – 1:33.079 – 55 laps – C3
9. Valtteri Bottas – Sauber – 1:33.528 – 28 laps – C3
10. Daniel Ricciardo – RB – 1:37.015 – 70 laps – C1
