Verstappen leads a close FP3 and Mercedes wakes up; Sainz, 5th

March 19, 2022

After a Friday that featured plenty of on-track action from the first minute of FP1 and FP2, the teams seemed a bit more relaxed at the start of the third and final free practice session of the Bahrain Grand Prix.

With conditions that were very different from those that will be found in a few hours in qualifying and tomorrow’s race, Max Verstappen led the timesheets from his first timed lap, barring one moment when George Russell snatched that time from him. Market Stall. With the stopwatch at zero, the Red Bull rider led the standings with a time of 1:32.544 .

Behind the current world champion, Charles Leclerc was one tenth in second place, ahead of Sergio Pérez and a George Russell who closed the top 4, giving much better sensations for Mercedes, than at least with the conditions of FP3 seemed to be closer to the battle and competing head to head with Ferrari. Sainz was fifth and Hamilton sixth.

The surprise was given by Alfa Romeo, as Valtteri Bottas and Guanyu Zhou placed eighth and ninth, behind an also unexpected Kevin Magnussen and ahead of Lance Stroll, who closed the top 10 at the wheel of his Aston Martin.

Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon did not stand out much on the timesheets, as the French team made the decision not to mount the soft tires and the A522’s best times were finally on the medium compound. leaving both far from the top ten.

Results of Free Practice 3 of the Bahrain GP 2022 Formula 1

(Click on “See results” to see the complete time table)

Cla	Pilot	laps	Weather	Difference	Interval	Km/h
1	Max Verstappen	15	1’32.544			210.529
2	Charles Leclerc	16	1’32.640	0.096	0.096	210.310
3	Sergio Perez	twenty	1,32,791	0.247	0.151	209,968
4	George Russell	19	1’32.935	0.391	0.144	209.643
5	Carlos Sainz Jr.	twenty	1’33.053	0.509	0.118	209,377
6	Lewis Hamilton	15	1’33.121	0.577	0.068	209.224
7	Kevin Magnussen	15	1’33.437	0.893	0.316	208.516
8	Valtteri Bottas	21	1’33.733	1.189	0.296	207.858
9	Guanyu Zhou	18	1’33.880	1.336	0.147	207.533
10	Lance Stroll	14	1’33.920	1.376	0.040	207.444
see results

F1 Bahrain GP 2022 Free Practice 3 Summary

The third free practice session started in a much more relaxed way than the first two practices on Friday, in fact, in the first ten minutes, only the Mercedes , Alfa Romeo and Haas took to the track to complete an installation lap .

The first lap times of FP3 came from Valtteri Bottas and Guanyu Zhou on hard tyres, although the slightly more competitive first time was set by Lewis Hamilton at the wheel of his Mercedes, a 1:34.256 on soft compounds, far from the best Friday records.

The Ferrari drivers took 15 minutes to get out on the track, but the one who a priori is the great favorite took even longer to wait, Verstappen jumped onto the asphalt when the stopwatch had already discounted the first 20 minutes of the session, a sign of the security that at the moment they have in the Red Bull team.

On his first lap on the soft tyres, Leclerc moved up to pole position with a time of 1m33.797s, a time that was four tenths quicker than teammate Sainz .

Sergio Pérez , in his first attempt, also on soft, placed himself between the two Ferrari drivers with a time of 1:34.160, which a few minutes later would be beaten by his teammate Max Verstappen, who on his first lap placed first with a 1:33.035.

The Alpine drivers were also among the last to go out on the track, but unlike most teams, they opted for the hard tyre, something that meant that their times did not stand out too much during the first half hour of FP3.

With seven laps on his softs, Sainz improved his best time and placed third, ahead of Pérez and behind Leclerc with a time of 1:34.148. Meanwhile, at Mercedes, the complaints of their drivers, who did not feel comfortable with the W13, continued.

Close to reaching the halfway point of the morning session, Leclerc lost control of his car at turn 11, the same place where he spun yesterday, and caused the first yellow flag on Saturday at the Bahrain Grand Prix. Luckily, he was able to get out of the gravel and back into the garage on his own.

The Haas , in 6th and 9th position after the first half hour of FP3, continued to leave a good feeling with a VF-22 that seems to have started off on the right foot.

With some new soft tyres, Hamilton went back out on the track and managed to set a very competitive time for the first time for Mercedes, a 1:33.121 that was less than a tenth of the Dutch driver’s best time.

Entering the last 20 minutes of FP3, Yuki Tsunoda was the only driver who had not yet gone out on the track after a problem in his car that prevented him from turning the wheel and that finally forced him to miss the last 60 minutes of practice in Bahrain.

In the last minutes of the session, Sainz also improved with new softs and placed 2nd with a time of 1:33.053. Russell did the same and surprised by taking first place with a 1:32.936, although a few seconds later, Verstappen with a 1:32.544 and Leclerc with his 1:32.640 would finally take over the first two positions in the time table.

With a great equality at the front of the grid, Magnussen surprised by sneaking seventh with a 1:33.437, ahead of the two Alfa Romeos . Alpine didn’t want to show its potential and didn’t even ride the soft compound, with Alonso and Ocon finishing FP3 in 16th and 18th place.