Formula 1

Verstappen tops third Sakhir GP practice, Russell only 7th

by Valentin Khorounzhiy
2 min read

Max Verstappen set the pace in final practice ahead of qualifying for the Sakhir Grand Prix in Bahrain, with Valtteri Bottas second and Friday pacesetter George Russell only seventh.

Verstappen took top spot from Bottas by two tenths of a second with 10 minutes remaining.

The Mercedes drivers completed their qualifying simulation runs a few minutes earlier than the Red Bull, leaving the pits on their fresh sets of soft tyres with 18 minutes left.

Bottas comfortably held the edge over Russell, although the Finn left some time on the table by going wide at the final corner.

Russell tried to go for another quick time after a couple of cool-down laps, but he locked up at the first corner and had to abandon the attempt.

Pierre Gasly, AlphaTauri, Sakhir GP, F1

The gap between the Mercedes drivers was big enough to enable star midfield runners Pierre Gasly, Esteban Ocon and Lando Norris to get between them, as well as the second Red Bull of Alex Albon in sixth.

Sergio Perez, Lance Stroll and Carlos Sainz Jr completed the top 10.

One of the notable drivers missing from the top half of the field was Daniel Ricciardo, whose qualifying simulation effort was ruined with a lock-up at Turn 1 and a messy, sparking run across a big kerb through the middle sector, which left him down in 14th place.

That put him just behind the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc, who suffered a spin at the final corner just as the chequered flag came out to end the session.

Leclerc’s team-mate Sebastian Vettel ended his session early when Ferrari decided to change his engine ahead of qualifying. The German was classified 15th.

Practice 3 Results

Pos Name Car Best Time Gap Leader
1 Max Verstappen Red Bull-Honda 54.064s
2 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes 54.27s +0.206s
3 Pierre Gasly AlphaTauri-Honda 54.427s +0.363s
4 Esteban Ocon Renault 54.453s +0.389s
5 Lando Norris McLaren-Renault 54.606s +0.542s
6 Alex Albon Red Bull-Honda 54.629s +0.565s
7 George Russell Mercedes 54.664s +0.6s
8 Sergio Pérez Racing Point-Mercedes 54.678s +0.614s
9 Lance Stroll Racing Point-Mercedes 54.693s +0.629s
10 Carlos Sainz McLaren-Renault 54.72s +0.656s
11 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo-Ferrari 54.845s +0.781s
12 Daniil Kvyat AlphaTauri-Honda 54.85s +0.786s
13 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 54.854s +0.79s
14 Daniel Ricciardo Renault 54.857s +0.793s
15 Sebastian Vettel Ferrari 54.858s +0.794s
16 Kimi Räikkönen Alfa Romeo-Ferrari 55.171s +1.107s
17 Kevin Magnussen Haas-Ferrari 55.347s +1.283s
18 Nicholas Latifi Williams-Mercedes 55.493s +1.429s
19 Pietro Fittipaldi Haas-Ferrari 55.666s +1.602s
20 Jack Aitken Williams-Mercedes 55.67s +1.606s
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