Raikkonen reigns in final Bahrain practice

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F1 Grand Prix, GP Bahrain, Bahrain International Circuitbh

Final practice ahead of qualifying saw Kimi Raikkonen dominate at the Bahrain International Circuit, topping his nearest rivals by half a second. Those rivals were Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo in the Red Bulls, while others were even further back.

Mercedes for instance do not appear equally at ease like they usually do, with Lewis Hamilton the fastest Mercedes in 4th, 8 tenths down. Vettel and Bottas were closely behind.

Nico Hulkenberg and Carlos Sainz put Renault in 7th and 8th, ahead of a continuously strong Gasly for Toro Rosso and Fernando Alonso who completed the top 10 for McLaren.

Still, it may not paint a true picture, as qualifying and race conditions will be cooler due to these happening at dusk, supported by artificial lighting. FP3 however was held at around the warmest moment of the day, with the sun eager to heat up the track surface.

Perhaps the most interesting moment of the session was Sebastian Vettel's unexpected return to the pits after just 20 minutes in the session. As the right hand side bargeboard had come loose, the German returned to the pits slowly, where Ferrari mechanics were able to rectify the situation quickly.

Results

Pos.No.DriverCarTimeGapLaps
17Kimi RäikkönenFerrari1:29.868-15
233Max VerstappenRed Bull Racing Tag Heuer1:30.393+0.525s8
33Daniel RicciardoRed Bull Racing Tag Heuer1:30.452+0.584s8
444Lewis HamiltonMercedes1:30.691+0.823s14
55Sebastian VettelFerrari1:30.719+0.851s8
677Valtteri BottasMercedes1:30.781+0.913s16
727Nico HulkenbergRenault1:31.144+1.276s11
855Carlos SainzRenault1:31.200+1.332s12
910Pierre GaslyScuderia Toro Rosso Honda1:31.438+1.570s18
1014Fernando AlonsoMcLaren Renault1:31.445+1.577s13
1128Brendon HartleyScuderia Toro Rosso Honda1:31.460+1.592s18
128Romain GrosjeanHaas Ferrari1:31.513+1.645s14
1331Esteban OconForce India Mercedes1:31.554+1.686s17
1411Sergio PerezForce India Mercedes1:31.564+1.696s14
1520Kevin MagnussenHaas Ferrari1:31.737+1.869s14
169Marcus EricssonSauber Ferrari1:31.859+1.991s17
172Stoffel VandoorneMcLaren Renault1:31.860+1.992s14
1816Charles LeclercSauber Ferrari1:32.047+2.179s19
1935Sergey SirotkinWilliams Mercedes1:32.463+2.595s11
2018Lance StrollWilliams Mercedes1:32.865+2.997s12