Verstappen beats Mercedes in final Bahrain practice

Max Verstappen and Red Bull had the edge in the final practice session for Formula 1’s Bahrain Grand Prix, leading the two Mercedes at Sakhir.

Although practice three at Sakhir is not considered super-representative as it takes place in full daylight before the twilight qualifying and race timeslots, Verstappen’s pace still continues the encouraging signs from Red Bull that were apparent on Friday.

Though it still hasn’t won again since Verstappen’s Silverstone triumph in August, it has been encouraged by its gains at recent races at a time when Mercedes is no longer developing its car.

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After the expected quiet start to the session, Verstappen led the way with a 1m29.6s lap when the main contenders came out.

Valtteri Bottas, who had only been 10th at first having had a scrappy first flying lap, blitzed that with a 1m28.721s when he came out on a fresh set of softs to kick off the final qualifying sessions.

But Bottas ended up back in third as team-mate Lewis Hamilton beat him with a 1m28.618s then Verstappen upstaged both with a time nearly three tenths faster than the champion.

✨ @Max33Verstappen

He currently tops the timesheet but he might have an issue with the rear of his car – he's back in the pits now#BahrainGP 🇧🇭 #F1 pic.twitter.com/Zre1DuDUWo

— Formula 1 (@F1) November 28, 2020

Verstappen did have a problem during the session, though, with an apparent malfunction on his car’s DRS needing attention after both his main runs.

And Hamilton also had a small drama – his car stopping on its way to the pitlane exit right at the end of the session.

Lewis Hamilton is parked at the end of the pit lane with a problem, his team had to run over to retrieve him#BahrainGP 🇧🇭 #F1 pic.twitter.com/KepkcqJUJT

— Formula 1 (@F1) November 28, 2020

In a fresh chassis after his heavy Friday crash, Alex Albon put the second Red Bull a clear fourth.

The AlphaTauris, McLarens and Racing Points shared out the remaining top 10 places, led by Pierre Gasly, with the Renaults just outside the top 10 and the Ferraris of Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc down in 13th and 15th respectively.

Practice 3 Results