Bahrain GP 2019
MARCH 30, 2019
Practice 3 Report - Hot Air
© RV Press
By Dan Knutson in Sakhir
The hot air and hot track temperatures during the afternoon Free Practice 3 session for the Bahrain Grand Prix would best little resemblance to the cooler evening conditions for qualifying Saturday and the race on Sunday. But no matter what the temperature has been so far during the weekend the Ferraris have remained unchallenged. Charles Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel were eight-tenths of a second clear of Mercedes on Saturday afternoon.
The line-up for the weekend was: Mercedes – Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas; Ferrari – Vettel and Leclerc; Red Bull TAG Heuer –Max Verstappen and Pierre Gasly; Renault – Daniel Ricciardo and Nico Hulkenberg; Haas Ferrari – Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen; McLaren Renault – Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris; Racing Point Mercedes – Sergio Perez and Lance Stroll; Alfa Romeo Ferrari – Kimi Raikkonen and Antonio Giovinazzi; Toro Rosso Honda – Daniil Kvyat and Alexander Albon; Williams Mercedes – George Russell and Robert Kubica.
The Ferraris were best on Friday, with Vettel clocking a 1:28.881 on a set of used Pirelli super soft compound slicks.
"We still need to pick up the pace for tomorrow," Vettel said Friday evening. "I am not entirely happy. It has been quite a tricky day because the track was very slippery and it was difficult to always extract the best from the tires. We were on a different strategy compared to other drivers and teams, that's why for tomorrow we still need to improve. I think we have some more potential in the car that we have to unleash for qualifying."
Newcomers Norris and Giovinazzi got things going.
The ambient temperature at the start of the 60-minute session was 79 degrees Fahrenheit (26 degrees Centigrade) and the track temperature was 102 degrees Fahrenheit (39 degrees Centigrade).
Vettel did the first flying lap – a 1:31.617 – on the soft tires.
Only six drivers had clocked times twenty minutes into the session, and Vettel's lap still stood on top.
Then Bottas beat that with a 1:31.169.
Just before the midpoint of FP3 Hamilton used a new set of softs to clock a 1:31.016. Bottas improved to a 1:31.111.
Verstappen, using a new set of super softs, did just three laps and took over first place with a time of 1:30.959 with 26 minutes to go.
With 19 minutes remaining, Leclerc pounded in a lap of 1:29.569 while Vettel turned a 1:29.738. They were on new sets of supers.
The Mercedes drivers headed out for another fast run but both returned to the pits. So Hamilton and Bottas remained fourth and fifth with less than ten minutes to go.
McLaren, meanwhile, was looking good with Sainz eighth and Norris ninth. That is until Magnussen grabbed eighth to push both McLaren drivers down a place. Norris responded by jumping up to third.
The track was getting faster with five minutes remaining, and Grosjean claimed third place. Hulkenberg took fourth.
All 20 drivers were on track in the final minutes. Bottas went from ninth to third in the final minute. Then Hamilton took third.
But all the jumping and jiving failed to depose Leclerc and Vettel who remained on top as FP3 ended. The top ten were Leclerc, Vettel, Hamilton, Bottas, Grosjean, Hulkenberg, Norris, Verstappen, Verstappen, Sainz and Kvyat.