Leclerc’s teammate Carlos Sainz led the final morning session ahead of Red Bull’s Sergio Perez until an interruption occurred due to a broken drain cover for the second consecutive day.
With repairs taking 1 hour and 17 minutes, organizers decided to cancel the planned one-hour lunch break, extending the session until the chequered flag at 7 pm local time.
McLaren encountered early trouble with an apparent clutch issue for Lando Norris, adding to their testing challenges for the week. Sauber’s Valtteri Bottas also faced limitations in his running as his team worked on adjustments to the floor and rear end of his car.
In the afternoon session, Max Verstappen replaced Perez for Red Bull, while Leclerc took over from Sainz in the Ferrari.
Leclerc managed to secure the third-fastest time behind Sainz and Perez initially, but Verstappen set a blistering pace with a 1m31.058s, followed by an even faster 1m30.763s on used C3 tyres.
Responding to the challenge, Leclerc posted a 1m30.409s time using the softer C4 compound, which won’t be utilized in the upcoming Bahrain Grand Prix.
With two hours remaining, Leclerc improved further, clocking a 1m30.322s on another set of C4 tyres, establishing a significant lead over the competition.
As the session progressed towards its conclusion, most teams shifted their focus to longer runs on harder tyres. However, Yuki Tsunoda of Red Bull impressed by securing the third-fastest time using C4 tyres, closely followed by George Russell in the Mercedes.
McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso also showed late improvements, finishing in seventh and eighth positions respectively.
The morning’s fastest time by Sainz held up for ninth place, with Perez and Nico Hulkenberg of Haas completing the top twelve.
Lewis Hamilton concluded his winter testing in 12th position after completing 49 laps in the morning session. He was followed by Lance Stroll of Aston Martin and Lando Norris.
Alpine’s Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon had a subdued test, finishing in 15th and 17th places respectively, split by Kevin Magnussen of Haas.
Valtteri Bottas, after limited morning running, ended up in 18th place, with Daniel Ricciardo of Red Bull finishing as the slowest of the 19 active drivers on Friday.
The 2024 season is set to begin with the first practice for the Bahrain Grand Prix on Thursday, with the race taking place on a Saturday this year.
