Piastri Leads McLaren 1-2 in FP3 as Bahrain Qualifying Looms

TDT | Manama
Email : editor@newsofbahrain.com

Oscar Piastri set the fastest time in the final practice session ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix, sending an early statement as McLaren locked out the top two spots on the timesheet.

Piastri, marking his 50th Grand Prix start at the very track where he made his F1 debut, clocked a 1m31.646s lap that left the rest of the field trailing — including his teammate Lando Norris, who finished six-tenths behind.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc slotted into third, eight-tenths off the top, while George Russell and Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli completed the top five — but both over a second adrift of the flying McLarens.

Pierre Gasly impressed for Alpine in sixth, with Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar and Max Verstappen closely following, albeit sharing identical time gaps. Verstappen, still struggling with setup issues in his RB21, described the car as “horrible” over team radio, continuing a rocky weekend for the reigning champion.

Meanwhile, Leclerc lost a mirror mid-session, Russell suffered a spin at Turn 10, and Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso — in his 50th race for the team — remained outside the top ten, unable to reverse the team’s recent slump.

Here’s how the top 10 looked in FP3:

1. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) – 1:31.646

2. Lando Norris (McLaren) +0.6s

3. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +0.8s

4. George Russell (Mercedes) +1.1s

5. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) +1.2s

6. Pierre Gasly (Alpine) +1.3s

7. Isack Hadjar (RB) +1.3s

8. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) +1.3s

9. Carlos Sainz (Williams) +1.4s

10. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) +1.4s