A dejected Lando Norris said he felt like he had “never driven a Formula One car before” after only qualifying sixth for Sunday’s Bahrain Grand Prix. His McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri took pole.
Norris had no explanation for why he was so slow in Bahrain qualifying, adding he was “letting McLaren down” by lapping four tenths and five places behind Piastri.
The 25-year-old seemed at a complete loss to explain his lack of pace, saying he “just wasn’t quick enough” in his post-qualifying interview before appearing to gesture towards his head when asked why that might be.
All in all, it was a worrying performance on and off the track from the McLaren driver, who leads the championship by one point from Red Bull’s Max Verstappen after three rounds, but who is beginning to come under increasing pressure from Piastri.
Piastri, 24, has looked the more comfortable driver in Bahrain this weekend, just as the Australian did in China two races ago.
Even in the other two races, at the season opener in Melbourne and again last weekend in Suzuka, Piastri was breathing down Norris’s neck for much of the race. This underlines the fact that the Briton faces a serious battle from within his own team this season.
The pressure appears to be taking a toll, with Norris cutting a frustrated figure in the interview pen after posting a time of 1min 30.267sec compared with Piastri’s 1:29.841. “I’m just not quick enough,” he told Sky Sports F1.
Asked why that might be, he pointed to his head. “No idea. Just not quick enough. It’s just another day. Look into things to see why I was struggling too much and try again tomorrow.”
The interviewer, trying to get him to expand on his feelings, asked what he might do to pick himself up. “Nothing. Just go to sleep,” Norris replied before walking away.
Norris later added: “I have been slow this whole weekend, to be honest. Nothing too surprising. I have just been off it. The car is amazing. I have nothing to complain about, the team are doing an amazing job but I am just letting them down. I don’t know [why], I feel like I’ve just never driven a Formula One car before so struggling a lot. I need to try and find answers.”
Norris’s mood was in stark contrast to that of his team-mate, who is clearly brimming with confidence. Piastri was fastest in FP2, in FP3 and then produced when it mattered in Q3. “I’ve felt confident all weekend,” Piastri admitted. “In qualifying, the others were a little closer than we wanted but got the lap time when it mattered. I can’t thank the team enough for the car they’ve given me.”
Mercedes’ George Russell took a surprise second on the grid with a stonking lap, less than two-tenths slower than Piastri’s but the Briton and his team-mate Kimi Antonelli, who was fourth quickest behind the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc, were later handed one-place grid penalties for by stewards for queueing in the pit-lane before the resumption of one of the sessions.
Verstappen, just one point behind Norris at the head of the championship, qualified in seventh, having struggled with his car throughout qualifying. At one point, the Dutchman was heard over the radio complaining about his brakes. “My brakes are just terrible,” he said. “I can’t brake at all. So bad.”
Red Bull did at least get both their cars into Q3 for the first time this season with Yuki Tsunoda qualifying 10th behind Williams’ Carlos Sainz in eighth and the second Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton in ninth. Hamilton was six tenths of a second slower than team-mate Leclerc on what was another difficult afternoon for the seven-time world champion. Hamilton arrived in Bahrain hoping that a new upgrade package, including a new floor, might lead to an improved performance.
‘It’s just about my poor performance’ 💬
Lewis Hamilton explains why he apologised over the radio after Qualifying 💭 pic.twitter.com/wejpbFfuoB
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) April 12, 2025
The big story, though, was undoubtedly Norris’s performance, or lack of it. He will hope to make up places in the race itself. McLaren undoubtedly have the fastest car on the grid, although the lesson of the season so far has been that clean air is king. With the field so tight, passing has not been easy.
McLaren Racing chief executive Zak Brown tried his best to play down any sense of it being a ‘bittersweet’ qualifying session. Describing Piastri’s lap as “mega” and admitting the Australian was “getting stronger and stronger” he said the team would do their best to get both cars on the podium.
“Tomorrow is a new day,” he said. “He’s [Norris] a great racing driver. He’s leading the championship.”
06:52 PM BST
Race start time tomorrow
It is at 4pm BST. We will be here with live updates from around 2.30pm. Could be an interesting one.
06:50 PM BST
Hamilton as downbeat as Norris, really
He is questioned about his radio message apologising to the team:
“It’s just about my performance; a poor performance. There’s no reasons, just not doing the job.”
He is asked whether it’s a ‘Saturday’ (qualifying), problem:
“It happens every Saturday, yes.”
06:48 PM BST
Hamilton’s message to Ferrari after the session
“I’m sorry guys. I’m sorry man. I’m really sorry.”
We have yet to hear from him in the media pen, so it will be interesting to see what he says. We still have to remember he is only a few races into his Ferrari career but it has been a mixed start so far.
06:43 PM BST
Verstappen on a tough session
“All weekend it’s been difficult, just struggling on brake feel and stopping power. Besides that just very difficult grip. I feel that maybe the tyre grip we’re getting out of the car is low… we’ve thrown the car around a lot and nothing really seems to give you a clear direction. That also shows we are struggling with other things.”
06:34 PM BST
Don’t forget…
Both Mercedes cars have been summoned to the stewards for failing to follow the race director’s instructions. They went to the end of the pit lane before a confirmed restart was given for Q2 after Ocon’s crash and the red flag. Could it be a sporting penalty?
06:32 PM BST
All hope is not lost for Norris
I am slightly worried by his tone in that interview though. Thoroughly dejected. There’s still a race tomorrow and he is ahead of the guy closest to him in the standings. And you can overtake at this track. Would be surprised if he isn’t on the podium tomorrow, but circumstances might play a part.
06:27 PM BST
Another poor session from Hamilton
He was not only ninth, faster than only Tsunoda but was almost 0.6sec slower than Leclerc. I do worry that Hamilton is repeating the mistakes of his final few years at Mercedes and trying different set-ups rather than trying to get the best out of a set-up that appears to be working for Leclerc.
06:23 PM BST
A downbeat Norris speaks to Sky Sports
“I’m just not quick enough.”
He is asked why and then points to his head (or body?).
“No idea. Just not quick enough. It’s just another day. Look into things to see why I was struggling to much and try again tomorrow.”
What does he do to pick himself up?
“Nothing. Just go to sleep.”
06:21 PM BST
Piastri on his second pole of the season
“I felt confident out there pretty much all weekend. FP3 we had good pace and qualifying, the others caught up a little bit closer than what I wanted but still delivered the lap when I wanted which is the most important thing. I’ve got to get to turn one in first, first. Felt like I have been comfortable all weekend. Can’t thank the team enough for the car they have given me.”
06:19 PM BST
Russell on an excellent front row
I think if anybody said we’d be in half a second of the McLarens we’d have taken it. To be second on the grid is a bonus. Congrats to Oscar and excited for tomorrow now. I think the strides were being made by night time coming in and the track getting a bit cooler. As this session unfolded we just seemed to get quicker. Being realistic it will be a challenge to fight with Oscar.
06:18 PM BST
‘A shocker’ from Norris
Oof. That is a shocker from Norris. Under serious pressure from Oscar Piastri and he wasn’t able to deliver. He is going to need to make up some places tomorrow or the talk about leadership at McLaren is going to go into overdrive. What a lap from George Russell by the way. Interesting grid.
06:17 PM BST
Leclerc on a strong second row qualifying
“I didn’t expect P3. I knew that in Q3 there was some lap time. At the beginning of Q3 everything felt really bad with the old tyres but as soon as we put the new tyres I was quite happy. It felt like I found my way a little bit and little by little I hope there will be performance to extract from this car in the weekends to come. I don’t think it’s the best track to have these upgrades done. Hopefully next week it should be a bit more of a step.”
06:15 PM BST
That is certainly interesting for the championship
Replays show Norris got a slide on at turn one/two and then would have lost plenty of time all the way down the straight and probably did in his rear tyres for the rest of the lap. I don’t think that was the only issue, though.
06:12 PM BST
Q3 classification
- PIA 1:29.841
- RUS +0.168
- LEC +0.334
- ANT +0.372
- GAS +0.375
- NOR +0.426
- VER +0.582
- SAI +0.839
- HAM +0.931
- TSU +1.462
06:11 PM BST
Q3 – Gasly into fourth!
Verstappen about to cross the line. Seventh. Piastri looking to be on a good lap here. What about Norris? It’s not looking good for him.
Piastri goes fastest! That is surely pole!
Norris does not improve his time and stays sixth. Oh no. What’s happened there?
06:10 PM BST
Q3 – Another good sector from Antonelli
He could trouble pole here. Russell is two tenths up on Piastri’s previous best after two sectors. Hamilton is nowhere.
Antonelli moves fastest but Russell beats that by two tenths!
Hamilton is fifth, a long way behind. What about Leclerc?
Second! Splits the Mercedes. McLaren slipping down the order here.
06:09 PM BST
Q3 – Final runs under way
All 10 drivers out there and all on fresh soft tyres. A good first sector fron Antonelli but Russell’s is better by half a tenth or so. Hamilton has dropped half a tenth in the first sector.
Can both Mercedes cars challenge the McLarens?
06:06 PM BST
Q3 – Hamilton has a lap time deleted too
That drops him down to 10th and moves Verstappen up to eighth and Tsunoda up to fifth. Nico Hulkenberg has had a lap time deleted from Q1, which is very, very late. And that means that Albon should have gone through but did not because the FIA did not notice this in time. Not good enough.
06:05 PM BST
Q3 – Order after the first runs
- PIA
- RUS +0.131
- NOR +0.163
- LEC +1.122
- HAM +1.177
- TSU +1.404
- GAS +1.503
- SAI +1.555
- VER +1.824
- ANT (no time)
Verstappen definitely made a mistake on his lap, as did Antonelli. Antonelli has his lap time deleted, though.
06:04 PM BST
Q3 – Piastri onto provisional pole!
Norris cannot beat that, nor Russell’s time. Only third! 0.163sec off his team-mate. That was a mighty, mighty lap from Russell. Where did it come from?
McLaren watch 👀
Piastri crosses the line and goes P1 while Norris can only manage P3 on his first run#F1#BahrainGPpic.twitter.com/YTeFp5M5DV
— Formula 1 (@F1) April 12, 2025
06:03 PM BST
Q3 – A fine lap from Russell
He is 1.1sec faster than team-mate Antonelli and fastest of all. Hamilton then moves into second, but is still a full second behind Russell… what has Leclerc got?
McLaren going well, as you’d expect.
06:02 PM BST
Q3 – Tsunoda crosses the line with a 1:31.637
What does Verstappen have? Not much, really. He is four tenths slower than Tsunoda but does set the fastest final sector. Was level with Tsunoda after the first sector. Perhaps an early mistake for Verstappen.
Antonelli beats both Red Bulls whilst Sainz splits them.
“My brakes are just terrible. I can’t brake at all. So bad,” Verstappen says.
06:01 PM BST
Q3 – First flying runs under way
Tsunoda a fair bit ahead of Verstappen after one sector. Four tenths in fact. That’s a lot…
05:59 PM BST
Q3 begins!
Verstappen, Tsunoda and Hamilton on old tyres. Leclerc and Gasly too. I think everyone else is on new tyres.
05:58 PM BST
That Mercedes pit-lane incident…
…will be investigated after the session. The cars are queueing up at the end of the pit lane as we wait for Q3 to begin.
05:56 PM BST
Well, McLaren look unbeatable
Gasly was a wildcard in there, though. Russell found a bit of time on his final lap. Hamilton still a long way adrift of his team-mate.
05:51 PM BST
Q2 – Top 10
All of these are through to Q3.
- PIA 1:30.454
- NOR +0.106
- GAS +0.189
- RUS +0.210
- ANT +0.262
- LEC +0.270
- SAI +0.390
- HAM +0.555
- VER +0.565
- TSU +0.774
Decent-ish effort from Tsunoda. Just over two tenths down from Verstappen and into Q3. Red Bull with two cars into Q3 for the first time this year. Not sure they look in great form heading into it, though.
05:50 PM BST
Q2 ends – Drivers out
Doohan, Hadjar, Hulkenberg, Alonso and Ocon.
05:49 PM BST
Q2 – Verstappen only seventh
That pushes Tsunoda down to ninth but the Dutchman wasn’t that far ahead of him by time.
Alonso only improves one place to 14th. Sainz 11th, can he improve? Yes, into sixth. Hadjar is out, then and Tsunoda is 10th and struggling to get through…
Doohan on a good lap and that could demote Tsunoda. He fails to do that, though…
05:48 PM BST
Q2 – Russell crosses the line
Antonelli sets the fastest final sector and moves into third, but Russell then pips him with both the fastest final sector and third position. Tsunoda in sixth. What has Hamilton got? Fifth. He’s not necessarily safe, though…
Hadjar into eighth, Gasly in 11th and needs to improve. He looks on a good lap, though. It is a good lap! Third! 0.189sec off Piastri’s pace.
Verstappen again under pressure heading into the final minutes of Q2, with no time on the board. If you pop your head into the hairdressers repeatedly, sooner or later you are going to get a haircut…
05:47 PM BST
Q2 – Russell begins his second hot lap
He’s 0.091sec down from Piastri in sector one but McLaren have not been especially strong there. Tsunoda is nearly two tenths down at the same pace. He is going to be struggling to make it into Q3 here you feel. Hamilton’s time is similar to Tsunoda’s after one sector.
05:45 PM BST
Q2 – Order as it stands
- PIA 1:30.454
- NOR +0.106
- LEC +0.602
- ANT +0.724
- SAI +0.878
- DOO +0.893
- RUS +0.953
- GAS +1.053
- HUL +1.239
- HAM (no time)
Then in the drop zone it is Verstappen, Hadjar, Ocon, Alonso and Tsunoda.
05:44 PM BST
Q2 – What have the McLarens got?
Piastri is faster than Norris by 0.106sec, which is then 0.602sec faster than Leclerc. A big margin. Verstappen aborts his first flying lap, I am not sure why.
Only the top three drivers on fresh soft tyres, by the looks of it. That explains some of the gaps because I don’t think Ferrari is the second fastest car this weekend.
05:42 PM BST
Q2 – Antonelli faster than Russell
0.229sec in it. Russell struggling a little bit this weekend. Sainz splits the Mercedes cars with his lap time.
05:41 PM BST
Q2 – Antonelli one of the first drivers to set a lap time
After one sector he is slightly slower than his team-mate Russell. Both of them have been noted for leaving their garages before the FIA posted the session resumption time. That could well be a grid penalty, but could also be a fine. Let’s see…
05:39 PM BST
Q2 resumes
Plenty of cars lining up at the end of the pit lane but they end up fairly spread out, as to not get in the way of each other.
05:37 PM BST
Q2 will resume at 5.37pm BST
Not long to wait then. Just over 11 minutes left in the session. Could be a frantic one.
05:34 PM BST
Albon clarifies more on his situation
No issues with the car, we just messed up on our… we went out very late, I had to overtake four or five cars on my out lap to try and get a lap in and then we were sitting in the pit lane for a long time with the blankets off. We started the lap maybe 15 degrees too cold from where we should have been and that was it really.
05:33 PM BST
The damage to Ocon’s car…
🚩 RED FLAG
Ocon has hit the barriers – he’s out of the car and confirms he’s ok. pic.twitter.com/8qmBRlR08j
— The Race (@wearetherace) April 12, 2025
11 minutes and one second left on the clock.
05:32 PM BST
What happened to Ocon?
Was OK for the initial acceleration out of turn three but then got a tankslapper on and couldn’t control the slide and went backwards into the barriers. Not a great weekend for Haas.
05:30 PM BST
Q2 – RED FLAG
Ocon has had a smash somewhere. Turn three by the looks of it. He’s OK but his rear end is destroyed and the red flags come out. Probably got the power down a bit early and lost the rear?
Esteban Ocon confirms he is okay on the radio after a big crash pic.twitter.com/OMwKicvOWC
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) April 12, 2025
05:29 PM BST
Q2 begins!
15 drivers and 10 go through to Q3.
🟢 Q2 GREEN LIGHT 🟢
Cars heading out on track. Fifteen drivers remain.#F1#BahrainGPpic.twitter.com/hWmipH3a1o
— Formula 1 (@F1) April 12, 2025
05:27 PM BST
That was a fine lap from Doohan for fifth
Some encouragement for Hamilton to be in between the McLarens, Verstappen too. That said, neither Norris nor Piastri set a second fast lap, so left plenty of time out there.
05:24 PM BST
Albon not happy
He gives a confused message on the radio. “Sorry guys, but I don’t really…” he says. Lawson eliminated and his team says he had a problem with DRS. It might have cost him a place in Q2.
05:22 PM BST
Q1 – Top 15
These drivers are through.
- NOR 1:31.107
- HAM +0.112
- VER +0.196
- PIA +0.285
- DOO +0.307
- ANT +0.308
- LEC +0.347
- GAS +0.355
- RUS +0.387
- HAD +0.484
- SAI +0.484
- OCO +0.487
- ALO +0.527
- TSU +0.644
- HUL +0.891
05:21 PM BST
Q1 – Drivers eliminated
Albon, Lawson, Bortoleto, Stroll, Bearman.
05:20 PM BST
Q1 – Verstappen goes third
He’s safely through then. What about Tsunoda? 11th. That should be fine too. Lawson is now down into the bottom five. Albon 20th and moves to 14th. Will that be enough? I think so. But no… he is then knocked down to 16th! Sainz is through in the other Williams, though.
05:19 PM BST
Q1 – Bearman gets a bit slidy at the final corner
He only moves to 13th. Antonelli moves third with a decent lap. Hadjar then into the top five, given Verstappen a slight slip stream as he starts his flying lap.
What has Verstappen got? First of all he needs to keep it within the white lines. It’s a bit close at turn four but I think he is OK.
Doohan continues his good form and goes third fastest. Verstappen still wrestling with the car here…
Hamilton moves into second, within a tenth or so of Norris. Verstappen on course to get through here.
05:17 PM BST
Q1 – Final runs under way
As I said, pressure on for the two Red Bull drivers. You’d back Verstappen to do it, but Tsunoda? Let’s see. Piastri and Norris both go out but you would have thought they are both safe. Track evolution can be massive here once the sun goes down so not worth risking anything.
Red Bull under some pressure here. What a turn-up it would be if Verstappen went out in Q1. Can’t see it happening.
05:14 PM BST
Q1 – Order after the first runs
- NOR 1:31.107
- PIA +0.285
- LEC +0.347
- ANT +0.738
- ALO +0.809
- DOO +0.812
- RUS +0.834
- HAM +0.855
- OCO +0.950
- HUL +0.960
In the drop zone are: Stroll, Hadjar, Bortoleto, Verstappen and Tsunoda. The two Red Bull drivers have not set a lap time so far, not through lack of trying. They will have one attempt to get a lap on the board… pressure on.
05:11 PM BST
Q1 – Russell struggling
His lap time is behind his team-mate by a tenth but is 0.834sec away from the fastest time from Norris so far.
05:10 PM BST
Q1 – Maybe it is a good lap from Doohan, though?
Hamilton fails to beat it, but goes second. Piastri is going well but Leclerc goes fastest for now. I don’t think he’ll stay there for long given the form of these McLarens.
Piastri goes fastest by 0.062sec ahead of Leclerc. What has Norris got in his pocket? He beats his team-mate by 0.285sec. Fastest of all.
05:09 PM BST
Q1 – Verstappen locks up massively at the final corner
He runs wide too, so the lap time will be deleted anyway and his front tyres will be ruined anyway, I’d have thought. His Red Bull team-mate Yuki Tsunoda crosses the line faster than Alonso and Gasly. Is that a good lap?
Issues for Max and Red Bull? 👀 pic.twitter.com/i3IyzRxM0d
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) April 12, 2025
Well, Jack Doohan beats it a little while after so I would say no, it is not a good lap. And it gets even worse because that lap gets deleted.
“There’s something really wrong with the car,” Verstappen says as he comes into the pits.
05:07 PM BST
Q1 – Verstappen starts his first hot lap
He had a few issues in final practice but conditions should be more amendable under lights. Turn 11 was where he had problems but this seems to be a pretty decent attempt this time. He’s just a smidgen ahead of Alonso’s time after two sectors.
05:05 PM BST
Q1 – Stroll sets a 1:33.575
What can Alonso and Hulkenberg do? Hulkenberg beats it by seven-tenths and Alonso beats that by nearly half a second… looks like Stroll actually ends up with his lap time being deleted, though, for a track limits violation at turn 13.
05:03 PM BST
Q1 – 16 mins remain
Not a ton of drivers out there early on but the two Aston Martins and Nico Hulkenberg are on track under lights.
05:00 PM BST
GREEN LIGHT: Q1 is go!
18 minutes, 20 drivers and only 15 go through to Q2.
🟢 Q1 GREEN LIGHT 🟢
Qualifying is under way 🙌#F1#BahrainGPpic.twitter.com/BEPXLpGnne
— Formula 1 (@F1) April 12, 2025
04:54 PM BST
Just over five minutes to go
Who will take pole? Here is my top six:
- PIA
- NOR
- VER
- RUS
- LEC
- HAD
04:47 PM BST
Zak Brown speaks about McLaren’s advantage here
“There’s always a compromise in set-up. Sector one we are not as strong as sector two or sector three. Everyone thinks there’s low grip but I have yet to hear a racing driver say a car is perfect.”
He also speaks about McLaren’s strategy last weekend in Japan, where they finished second and third behind Verstappen:
“We could have taken more risk. I think in reviewing it… I think Lando would have been put into traffic. Would we do it different next time? I think it’s in the moment and I am not sure it would have worked.”
04:44 PM BST
Impressive rookies
Plenty of rookies making their full-season debuts in 2025. I think most of them have impressed to some degree. Certainly none of them have looked lost if you discount Lawson’s strange two races at Red Bull. Isack Hadjar probably the stand out for Racing Bulls and then Kimi Antonelli at Mercedes.
Oliver Bearman had a weekend to forget in Australia but was very strong in both China and Suzuka. And, although he has no points, Bortoleto for Sauber has done well over one lap against Nico Hulkenberg, who is a very fine qualifier. Jack Doohan has made a few costly mistakes, but again, has shown some pace for Alpine.
04:35 PM BST
Drivers’ championship outlook
Piastri should arguably have more points after his spin in Australia. That cost him a certain podium. Russell has done a good job at accumulating points so far but you feel that the Mercedes does not quite have the ultimate pace over one lap or a race distance to really contend. In any case, a 17-point gap is a fair one at this stage of the season.
Ferrari are all over the place, really. It is hard to see them getting a championship attempt together. Not perhaps because of how far back they are but because they look so lost. They have a new floor for this weekend and it is only fair to judge how it has done after qualifying and the race.
04:24 PM BST
Raw pace rankings
This shows how fast each team have been over the four qualifying sessions so far, measuring their performance relative to the fastest lap time of the weekend.
As you can see, McLaren lead the way and then it has become a little staggered down the field.
04:20 PM BST
Driver rankings heading into this race
Here is who we think have been the top 10 drivers so far this season.
- Max Verstappen
- Lando Norris
- Oscar Piastri
- George Russell
- Alexander Albon
- Kimi Antonelli
- Charles Leclerc
- Yuki Tsunoda
- Lewis Hamilton
- Nico Hulkenberg
Tsunoda largely that high because of his showings in the first two races. Hamilton has not had a great season but did win the sprint race in China. Still below team-mate Hamilton, though.
04:13 PM BST
Average qualifying position so far
This is the top 10. Not the top 10 drivers, but the top 10 average qualifying positions for both sprint and main grands prix.
Not sure Tsunoda is going to be improving his average figure today, unfortunately. That second Red Bull seat is a real problem.
04:11 PM BST
Welcome back
We are just under an hour away from qualifying starting in Bahrain. As you can see from the lap times, McLaren are strong favourites. Nobody else has manage to optimise their package this weekend with various struggles for the contenders. Max Verstappen seemed particularly displeased in final practice though he was far from the only one.
03:44 PM BST
FP3 recap
McLaren put in another dominant performance in final practice for the Bahrain Grand Prix. Oscar Piastri’s time of 1min31.646sec was 0.668sec faster than team-mate and championship leader Lando Norris. The fastest non-McLaren car was Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari, who was 0.834sec off the pace. Everybody else more than a second adrift of Piastri’s lap time.
Max Verstappen, last weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix winner, was down in eighth nearly 1.4sec off the ultimate pace for Red Bull. Lewis Hamilton had another difficult session for Ferrari, six-tenths off Leclerc and nearly 1.5sec adrift of Piastri.
The caveats here are that several of McLaren’s rivals (and even Norris himself) failed to string a totally clean lap together and that conditions for qualifying will be different under lights. That said, it is a lot of time for any team to claw back in a matter of hours.
There was further pain for Red Bull’s new recruit Yuki Tsunoda, who finished the session down in 20th. Qualifying in Sakhir begins at 5pm BST.
02:39 PM BST
Ominous form from McLaren
Yes, the caveats are that the conditions will be different for qualifying but the fastest non-McLaren was more than 0.8sec behind. I think plenty of their rivals (well, even Lando Norris himself) failed to get the best out of their laps but, yeah, worrying for everyone else. And possibly worrying for Norris, too. Piastri looks totally on it.
02:33 PM BST
FP3 classification
- PIA 1:31.646
- NOR +0.668
- LEC +0.834
- RUS +1.181
- ANT +1.270
- GAS +1.328
- HAD +1.377
- VER +1.381
- SAI +1.446
- HAM +1.465
- OCO +1.594
- DOO +1.701
- LAW +1.724
- ALO +1.902
- ALB +2.107
- BEA +2.689
- STR +2.717
- BOR +2.872
- HUL +2.990
- TSU +3.319
02:31 PM BST
FP3 ends
Piastri leads Norris and Leclerc. Full classification coming up shortly.
02:29 PM BST
FP3 – Into the final five minutes
Sainz is the leading Williams driver in this session and he has looked a little more on the pace of team-mate Albon than at any other race so far in 2025.
He is in ninth, 1.446sec off Piastri and 0.762sec ahead of his team-mate Albon. Not sure what has happened with him though.
02:26 PM BST
FP3 – Norris and Leclerc going again
As is Hamilton. Norris goes second, but nearly seven-tenths off Piastri’s time. On older tyres, yes, but still a big gap.
Leclerc crosses the line into third, and is the only non-McLaren driver within a second of Piastri. Hamilton cannot manage that. He goes 10th, 1.465sec off Piastri.
Rapid from Piastri, who looks unbeatable.
02:23 PM BST
FP3 – What happened on Norris’s fast lap?
He understeered off the track at turn 11 after going in too deep. It’s all a bit of a mess out there for several drivers. Not for Piastri, though. Conditions are difficult and the wind is making it harder still. Russell is fighting the wheel and is a second off Piastri’s time after two sectors.
Russell moves second ahead of Antonelli, but still 1.181sec off Piastri.
02:21 PM BST
FP3 – Piastri moves first
1.328sec faster than Gasly and a little bit further ahead still of Verstappen. Hadjar splits Gasly and Verstappen with a fine lap in the Racing Bull. Antonelli then goes second, but 1.270sec off Piastri’s time. Enormous margin.
02:20 PM BST
FP3 – Verstappen on a quick one
He is up after two sectors, but Piastri is even faster than that with a rapid first sector alone. Norris aborts a quick lap so will not move up the order.
Verstappen goes fastest by nearly three-tenths but is then beaten by Gasly…
What has Piastri got? He’s nearly a second up on Gasly after two sectors.
02:16 PM BST
FP3 – More trouble for Russell
He slides and then spins on the exit of turn 10. He is currently in 13th, 1.563sec off Piastri’s best tine of the session.
“I’d probably go as far as saying that’s the least amount of grip I’ve had in an F1 car,” he says on the way back to the pits.
Tsunoda begins a fast lap on the soft tyres. He is currently in 14th, 1.4sec off his team-mate. He aborts his lap early on. Do not know why.
02:14 PM BST
FP3 – Leclerc loses his left wing-mirror
It wasn’t wobbly before but just flew off as he approached the final couple of corners. He comes back into the pit lane for a repair. Bortoleto has a nasty time at turn 13 as he puts the power down.
Charles’ left wing mirror goes awol! #F1#BahrainGPpic.twitter.com/8oQ8W1UxB0
— Formula 1 (@F1) April 12, 2025
02:13 PM BST
FP3 – Updated top 10
- PIA 1:33.324
- VER +0.234
- NOR +0.472
- ALO +0.913
- LEC +0.934
- HAM +0.974
- GAS +1.248
- HUL +1.312
- LAW +1.323
- HAD +1.357
02:10 PM BST
FP3 – 21 mins remaining
Hulkenberg was in eighth before he retired from the session. Difficult to know who will be the slowest team at each race this year. Haas currently the slowest in this session but they have only run the hard tyres. Most teams running medium and softs only. As I say, don’t read too much into the lap times here.
Meanwhile, Verstappen has moved into second but ran wide at turn four and exceded track limits. It counts, but that would not be the case in qualifying – the lap would be deleted.
02:07 PM BST
FP3 – Green flags again
George Russell has a big lock up at the first turn. Neither he nor Verstappen have set a representative lap time.
Piastri still fastest by 0.472sec from Norris with Alonso third, more than one second off the pace. I don’t think we should read too much into these margins given how different the conditions will be in qualifying (and that the teams will be doing different things in FP3) but you’d rather be in McLaren’s position than anywhere else…
02:02 PM BST
FP3 – Problems for Hulkenberg
Yellow flags with the Sauber stationary at the side of the track at turn eight. He says it switched itself off and went into anti-stall. We now have a virtual safety car.
Nico Hulkenberg has come to a halt at the side of the track triggering a Virtual Safety Car #F1#BahrainGPpic.twitter.com/igSsYAWqsA
— Formula 1 (@F1) April 12, 2025
01:59 PM BST
FP3 – McLaren referring to their running as ‘data gathering’
OK.
Data collecting for the final practice session of the weekend 👊#McLaren | #BahrainGP 🇧🇭 pic.twitter.com/BK4IZ5lDHm
— McLaren (@McLarenF1) April 12, 2025
I don’t think anyone really wants to see McLaren run away with it this year or weekend. They have shown pace on a variety of tracks so far. I don’t think we have seen the best from Ferrari or Red Bull, Suzuka aside for the latter. It all finished last season very close but that has not really been the case this year, the standings aside.
01:57 PM BST
FP3 – A few drivers not to set a lap time
Verstappen, Hadjar, Lawson, Antonelli and Russell, who has not even left the garage yet.
01:56 PM BST
FP3 – A fine lap from Piastri puts him first
Nearly half a second faster than Norris. Verstappen making some changes to his RB21. It is the usual trend of things for Verstappen and Red Bull to get closer as the weekend goes on but it is a big task here.
01:54 PM BST
FP3 – Current order
- NOR 1:33.796
- ALO +0.441
- GAS +0.932
- HAM +1.050
- HUL +1.081
- LEC +1.107
- DOO +1.651
- STR +1.717
- TSU +1.988
- OCO +2.314
Piastri starts his flying lap…
01:52 PM BST
FP3 – Norris goes fastest
Norris is tearing it up after two sectors, though Verstappen has set the fastest first sector. Norris crosses the line 1.050sec faster than Hamilton. Verstappen aborts his lap after running deep and wide at turn 11. The car did not want to turn in, or he carried too much speed in.
“Yeah, that’s ——- terrible,” he says on the radio. Looked it. Not even close to making it.
01:49 PM BST
FP3 – Gasly into third
Within three tenths of Hamilton’s fastest time. The two Red Bulls of Verstappen and Tsunoda are now out too. Again, these are not optimal conditions to run in, really. Lando Norris also out for McLaren and he is about to start his first hot lap.
01:44 PM BST
FP3 – Hamilton goes fastest
Hamilton is on a hot lap on the softs. Well, not quite full qualifying pace as he rounds the final corner and crosses the line with a 1:34.846sec, 1.563sec faster than Ocon.
A lot less grip out there in the late evening sun than there will be under the lights. Charles Leclerc in the other Ferrari is out on track now, as are the two Alpines of Pierre Gasly and Jack Doohan.
Leclerc then crosses the line and goes second, within a tenth of Hamilton ahead. Some lap time to find for Ferrari after a disappointing Friday.
01:40 PM BST
FP3 – Hamilton aborts his lap
Ocon has set a lap time that beats Bearman, but very little else going on. Wind has picked up significantly since yesterday too. Ocon complains of bouncing in the lap.
01:36 PM BST
FP3 – Bearman sets the first lap time
It’s a 1:37.825, so some 7.2sec slower than the fastest time in FP3 yesterday. Lewis Hamilton is out there in the Ferrari, as is the other Haas of Esteban Ocon.
Not wasting too much time, @LewisHamilton hits the track for the final practice session 👊 pic.twitter.com/4JaVVQrkOX
— Scuderia Ferrari HP (@ScuderiaFerrari) April 12, 2025
01:32 PM BST
GREEN LIGHT: FP3 begins
Nobody that keen to get out at the very start but we get a handful of them after a minute or so.
01:29 PM BST
Just a few minutes to go until we get going
Air temperature 33 degrees, humidity 46 per cent and track temperature 33c.
It’s a toasty 32℃ and a bit breezy here in Sakhir
We’ve got FP3 coming up before qualifying under the lights later! 🙌#F1#BahrainGPpic.twitter.com/C35TlCIMoZ
— Formula 1 (@F1) April 12, 2025
01:22 PM BST
A reminder of the constructor standings, too
I think McLaren will walk this one this season. Strong driver line-up and the best car.
01:20 PM BST
Norris does not think McLaren are uncatchable
Here is what he said after FP2 yesterday.
“A difficult day, just re-adapting back to the reality of Bahrain, the difficulties of Bahrain, which make it tough. It will make it exciting on Sunday, because the degradation is incredible today comparing to the test.
“It’s kind of weird today, because everything feels dreadful but I think relatively our pace was still in a reasonable place. I think a reasonable Friday. I think it’s just conditions. It’s just the temperature, it’s hot, it’s windy… it’s more the temperature which makes such a big difference. It is what it is, it’s the same challenge for everyone.”
“I just don’t think they turned up. Everyone just looks at the timesheets, they have no idea about the information on who turns up, who doesn’t… it’s like three-and-a-half, four-tenths around here, so that puts us back in the same position as the Mercedes.”
Norris has been consistent on downplaying McLaren’s advantage this season. Of course, the narrative that they are miles ahead does not suit him personally as it puts pressure on. It also goes some way to undermining his achievements.
Personally I don’t really buy that McLaren are miles ahead, so agree with Norris on that front. They are the fastest car by a few tenths, though they still have to make sure they deliver. And that is not always easy. However, they do look in exceptional form here, so disagree with him there.
01:09 PM BST
Current driver standings
01:01 PM BST
Verstappen says Red Bull ‘just too slow’
“[It] took like one lap, two laps to get into it, but still the gap was quite massive, so not entirely happy. Just struggling a lot with grip, feeling in general. The balance wasn’t too bad but just, yeah, off, and quite a bit of work to do also in the long run.
“We’re just too slow basically every lap, and it was honestly not a lot of fun out there in the long run. A bit of drift practice at the end there as well,”
12:49 PM BST
Watch: Alonso’s steering wheel falls off
One of the stranger moments of the day yesterday…
Not something you see often… 😳 Fernando Alonso’s steering wheel FALLS OFF! 😱 pic.twitter.com/U06MCeYj2K
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) April 11, 2025
12:44 PM BST
Times after second practice
- Oscar Piastri (Aus) McLaren 1min 30.505secs
- Lando Norris (Gbr) McLaren 1:30.659
- George Russell (Gbr) Mercedes GP 1:31.032
- Charles Leclerc (Mon) Ferrari 1:31.045
- Andrea Kimi Antonelli (Ita) Mercedes GP 1:31.227
- Isack Hadjar (Fra) RB 1:31.238
- Max Verstappen (Ned) Red Bull 1:31.330
- Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) Ferrari 1:31.576
- Oliver Bearman (Gbr) Haas F1 1:31.584
- Carlos Sainz Jr (Spa) Williams 1:31.623
- Alexander Albon (Tha) Williams 1:31.696
- Liam Lawson (Nzl) RB 1:31.706
- Gabriel Bortoleto (Bra) Kick Sauber 1:31.772
- Jack Doohan (Aus) Alpine 1:31.788
- Fernando Alonso (Spa) Aston Martin 1:31.825
- Esteban Ocon (Fra) Haas F1 1:31.870
- Pierre Gasly (Fra) Alpine 1:31.947
- Yuki Tsunoda (Jpn) Red Bull 1:32.024
- Lance Stroll (Can) Aston Martin 1:32.382
- Nico Hulkenberg (Ger) Kick Sauber 1:32.496
12:33 PM BST
Good afternoon
Welcome to our coverage for third and final practice for the Bahrain Grand Prix with qualifying for Sunday’s race coming later this evening. It is the fourth race of the 2025 Formula One season and looks likely to be the first one to be run in warm conditions, after fairly cool races in Australia, China and Japan. Who will that favour?
On the balance of everything we have seen so far in Sakhir, it will be McLaren. In yesterday’s second practice session (run under lights, the same time of day as qualifying and the race) they were comfortably fastest. Oscar Piastri’s lap time of 1min30.505sec was a tenth and a half faster than team-mate Lando Norris.
The next best man, Mercedes’ George Russell, was more than half a second off the pace with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc just a little further back. Regardless of what engine modes were being run and how much fuel teams were carrying, that is a lot of ground to make up.
Further down the field were Kimi Antonelli in fifth, Isack Hadjar in sixth and Max Verstappen for Red Bull. They were all between 0.7 and 0.8sec off the pace. Verstappen did not have the most comfortable session, complaining about his RB21 several times. He was the winner last weekend in Japan, but it would take a monumental turnaround for him to win tomorrow, you feel. I would not rule him out of podium contention, though.
It was a tough session for Lewis Hamilton again, who was well adrift of Ferrari team-mate Leclerc. The seven-time champion was more than a second off Piastri’s pace as Ferrari’s struggles appear to have continued despite bringing a new floor to this race. Behind Hamilton it was very competitive, with just 0.45sec separating Hamilton and Yuki Tsunoda in 18th. The problem for Tsunoda, after a fairly promising showing in Japan, is that he appears to have been put back on the course that Liam Lawson was on, which led to his dropping.
Anyway, FP3 begins at 1.30pm BST and we will be here for all the updates in the final practice session before qualifying.
A dejected Lando Norris said he felt like he had “never driven a Formula One car before” after only qualifying sixth for Sunday’s Bahrain Grand Prix. His McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri took pole.
Norris had no explanation for why he was so slow in Bahrain qualifying, adding he was “letting McLaren down” by lapping four tenths and five places behind Piastri.
The 25-year-old seemed at a complete loss to explain his lack of pace, saying he “just wasn’t quick enough” in his post-qualifying interview before appearing to gesture towards his head when asked why that might be.
All in all, it was a worrying performance on and off the track from the McLaren driver, who leads the championship by one point from Red Bull’s Max Verstappen after three rounds, but who is beginning to come under increasing pressure from Piastri.
Piastri, 24, has looked the more comfortable driver in Bahrain this weekend, just as the Australian did in China two races ago.
Even in the other two races, at the season opener in Melbourne and again last weekend in Suzuka, Piastri was breathing down Norris’s neck for much of the race. This underlines the fact that the Briton faces a serious battle from within his own team this season.
The pressure appears to be taking a toll, with Norris cutting a frustrated figure in the interview pen after posting a time of 1min 30.267sec compared with Piastri’s 1:29.841. “I’m just not quick enough,” he told Sky Sports F1.
Asked why that might be, he pointed to his head. “No idea. Just not quick enough. It’s just another day. Look into things to see why I was struggling too much and try again tomorrow.”
The interviewer, trying to get him to expand on his feelings, asked what he might do to pick himself up. “Nothing. Just go to sleep,” Norris replied before walking away.
Norris later added: “I have been slow this whole weekend, to be honest. Nothing too surprising. I have just been off it. The car is amazing. I have nothing to complain about, the team are doing an amazing job but I am just letting them down. I don’t know [why], I feel like I’ve just never driven a Formula One car before so struggling a lot. I need to try and find answers.”
Norris’s mood was in stark contrast to that of his team-mate, who is clearly brimming with confidence. Piastri was fastest in FP2, in FP3 and then produced when it mattered in Q3. “I’ve felt confident all weekend,” Piastri admitted. “In qualifying, the others were a little closer than we wanted but got the lap time when it mattered. I can’t thank the team enough for the car they’ve given me.”
Mercedes’ George Russell took a surprise second on the grid with a stonking lap, less than two-tenths slower than Piastri’s but the Briton and his team-mate Kimi Antonelli, who was fourth quickest behind the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc, were later handed one-place grid penalties for by stewards for queueing in the pit-lane before the resumption of one of the sessions.
Verstappen, just one point behind Norris at the head of the championship, qualified in seventh, having struggled with his car throughout qualifying. At one point, the Dutchman was heard over the radio complaining about his brakes. “My brakes are just terrible,” he said. “I can’t brake at all. So bad.”
Red Bull did at least get both their cars into Q3 for the first time this season with Yuki Tsunoda qualifying 10th behind Williams’ Carlos Sainz in eighth and the second Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton in ninth. Hamilton was six tenths of a second slower than team-mate Leclerc on what was another difficult afternoon for the seven-time world champion. Hamilton arrived in Bahrain hoping that a new upgrade package, including a new floor, might lead to an improved performance.
‘It’s just about my poor performance’ 💬
Lewis Hamilton explains why he apologised over the radio after Qualifying 💭 pic.twitter.com/wejpbFfuoB
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) April 12, 2025
The big story, though, was undoubtedly Norris’s performance, or lack of it. He will hope to make up places in the race itself. McLaren undoubtedly have the fastest car on the grid, although the lesson of the season so far has been that clean air is king. With the field so tight, passing has not been easy.
McLaren Racing chief executive Zak Brown tried his best to play down any sense of it being a ‘bittersweet’ qualifying session. Describing Piastri’s lap as “mega” and admitting the Australian was “getting stronger and stronger” he said the team would do their best to get both cars on the podium.
“Tomorrow is a new day,” he said. “He’s [Norris] a great racing driver. He’s leading the championship.”
06:52 PM BST
Race start time tomorrow
It is at 4pm BST. We will be here with live updates from around 2.30pm. Could be an interesting one.
06:50 PM BST
Hamilton as downbeat as Norris, really
He is questioned about his radio message apologising to the team:
“It’s just about my performance; a poor performance. There’s no reasons, just not doing the job.”
He is asked whether it’s a ‘Saturday’ (qualifying), problem:
“It happens every Saturday, yes.”
06:48 PM BST
Hamilton’s message to Ferrari after the session
“I’m sorry guys. I’m sorry man. I’m really sorry.”
We have yet to hear from him in the media pen, so it will be interesting to see what he says. We still have to remember he is only a few races into his Ferrari career but it has been a mixed start so far.
06:43 PM BST
Verstappen on a tough session
“All weekend it’s been difficult, just struggling on brake feel and stopping power. Besides that just very difficult grip. I feel that maybe the tyre grip we’re getting out of the car is low… we’ve thrown the car around a lot and nothing really seems to give you a clear direction. That also shows we are struggling with other things.”
06:34 PM BST
Don’t forget…
Both Mercedes cars have been summoned to the stewards for failing to follow the race director’s instructions. They went to the end of the pit lane before a confirmed restart was given for Q2 after Ocon’s crash and the red flag. Could it be a sporting penalty?
06:32 PM BST
All hope is not lost for Norris
I am slightly worried by his tone in that interview though. Thoroughly dejected. There’s still a race tomorrow and he is ahead of the guy closest to him in the standings. And you can overtake at this track. Would be surprised if he isn’t on the podium tomorrow, but circumstances might play a part.
06:27 PM BST
Another poor session from Hamilton
He was not only ninth, faster than only Tsunoda but was almost 0.6sec slower than Leclerc. I do worry that Hamilton is repeating the mistakes of his final few years at Mercedes and trying different set-ups rather than trying to get the best out of a set-up that appears to be working for Leclerc.
06:23 PM BST
A downbeat Norris speaks to Sky Sports
“I’m just not quick enough.”
He is asked why and then points to his head (or body?).
“No idea. Just not quick enough. It’s just another day. Look into things to see why I was struggling to much and try again tomorrow.”
What does he do to pick himself up?
“Nothing. Just go to sleep.”
06:21 PM BST
Piastri on his second pole of the season
“I felt confident out there pretty much all weekend. FP3 we had good pace and qualifying, the others caught up a little bit closer than what I wanted but still delivered the lap when I wanted which is the most important thing. I’ve got to get to turn one in first, first. Felt like I have been comfortable all weekend. Can’t thank the team enough for the car they have given me.”
06:19 PM BST
Russell on an excellent front row
I think if anybody said we’d be in half a second of the McLarens we’d have taken it. To be second on the grid is a bonus. Congrats to Oscar and excited for tomorrow now. I think the strides were being made by night time coming in and the track getting a bit cooler. As this session unfolded we just seemed to get quicker. Being realistic it will be a challenge to fight with Oscar.
06:18 PM BST
‘A shocker’ from Norris
Oof. That is a shocker from Norris. Under serious pressure from Oscar Piastri and he wasn’t able to deliver. He is going to need to make up some places tomorrow or the talk about leadership at McLaren is going to go into overdrive. What a lap from George Russell by the way. Interesting grid.
06:17 PM BST
Leclerc on a strong second row qualifying
“I didn’t expect P3. I knew that in Q3 there was some lap time. At the beginning of Q3 everything felt really bad with the old tyres but as soon as we put the new tyres I was quite happy. It felt like I found my way a little bit and little by little I hope there will be performance to extract from this car in the weekends to come. I don’t think it’s the best track to have these upgrades done. Hopefully next week it should be a bit more of a step.”
06:15 PM BST
That is certainly interesting for the championship
Replays show Norris got a slide on at turn one/two and then would have lost plenty of time all the way down the straight and probably did in his rear tyres for the rest of the lap. I don’t think that was the only issue, though.
06:12 PM BST
Q3 classification
- PIA 1:29.841
- RUS +0.168
- LEC +0.334
- ANT +0.372
- GAS +0.375
- NOR +0.426
- VER +0.582
- SAI +0.839
- HAM +0.931
- TSU +1.462
06:11 PM BST
Q3 – Gasly into fourth!
Verstappen about to cross the line. Seventh. Piastri looking to be on a good lap here. What about Norris? It’s not looking good for him.
Piastri goes fastest! That is surely pole!
Norris does not improve his time and stays sixth. Oh no. What’s happened there?
06:10 PM BST
Q3 – Another good sector from Antonelli
He could trouble pole here. Russell is two tenths up on Piastri’s previous best after two sectors. Hamilton is nowhere.
Antonelli moves fastest but Russell beats that by two tenths!
Hamilton is fifth, a long way behind. What about Leclerc?
Second! Splits the Mercedes. McLaren slipping down the order here.
06:09 PM BST
Q3 – Final runs under way
All 10 drivers out there and all on fresh soft tyres. A good first sector fron Antonelli but Russell’s is better by half a tenth or so. Hamilton has dropped half a tenth in the first sector.
Can both Mercedes cars challenge the McLarens?
06:06 PM BST
Q3 – Hamilton has a lap time deleted too
That drops him down to 10th and moves Verstappen up to eighth and Tsunoda up to fifth. Nico Hulkenberg has had a lap time deleted from Q1, which is very, very late. And that means that Albon should have gone through but did not because the FIA did not notice this in time. Not good enough.
06:05 PM BST
Q3 – Order after the first runs
- PIA
- RUS +0.131
- NOR +0.163
- LEC +1.122
- HAM +1.177
- TSU +1.404
- GAS +1.503
- SAI +1.555
- VER +1.824
- ANT (no time)
Verstappen definitely made a mistake on his lap, as did Antonelli. Antonelli has his lap time deleted, though.
06:04 PM BST
Q3 – Piastri onto provisional pole!
Norris cannot beat that, nor Russell’s time. Only third! 0.163sec off his team-mate. That was a mighty, mighty lap from Russell. Where did it come from?
McLaren watch 👀
Piastri crosses the line and goes P1 while Norris can only manage P3 on his first run#F1#BahrainGPpic.twitter.com/YTeFp5M5DV
— Formula 1 (@F1) April 12, 2025
06:03 PM BST
Q3 – A fine lap from Russell
He is 1.1sec faster than team-mate Antonelli and fastest of all. Hamilton then moves into second, but is still a full second behind Russell… what has Leclerc got?
McLaren going well, as you’d expect.
06:02 PM BST
Q3 – Tsunoda crosses the line with a 1:31.637
What does Verstappen have? Not much, really. He is four tenths slower than Tsunoda but does set the fastest final sector. Was level with Tsunoda after the first sector. Perhaps an early mistake for Verstappen.
Antonelli beats both Red Bulls whilst Sainz splits them.
“My brakes are just terrible. I can’t brake at all. So bad,” Verstappen says.
06:01 PM BST
Q3 – First flying runs under way
Tsunoda a fair bit ahead of Verstappen after one sector. Four tenths in fact. That’s a lot…
05:59 PM BST
Q3 begins!
Verstappen, Tsunoda and Hamilton on old tyres. Leclerc and Gasly too. I think everyone else is on new tyres.
05:58 PM BST
That Mercedes pit-lane incident…
…will be investigated after the session. The cars are queueing up at the end of the pit lane as we wait for Q3 to begin.
05:56 PM BST
Well, McLaren look unbeatable
Gasly was a wildcard in there, though. Russell found a bit of time on his final lap. Hamilton still a long way adrift of his team-mate.
05:51 PM BST
Q2 – Top 10
All of these are through to Q3.
- PIA 1:30.454
- NOR +0.106
- GAS +0.189
- RUS +0.210
- ANT +0.262
- LEC +0.270
- SAI +0.390
- HAM +0.555
- VER +0.565
- TSU +0.774
Decent-ish effort from Tsunoda. Just over two tenths down from Verstappen and into Q3. Red Bull with two cars into Q3 for the first time this year. Not sure they look in great form heading into it, though.
05:50 PM BST
Q2 ends – Drivers out
Doohan, Hadjar, Hulkenberg, Alonso and Ocon.
05:49 PM BST
Q2 – Verstappen only seventh
That pushes Tsunoda down to ninth but the Dutchman wasn’t that far ahead of him by time.
Alonso only improves one place to 14th. Sainz 11th, can he improve? Yes, into sixth. Hadjar is out, then and Tsunoda is 10th and struggling to get through…
Doohan on a good lap and that could demote Tsunoda. He fails to do that, though…
05:48 PM BST
Q2 – Russell crosses the line
Antonelli sets the fastest final sector and moves into third, but Russell then pips him with both the fastest final sector and third position. Tsunoda in sixth. What has Hamilton got? Fifth. He’s not necessarily safe, though…
Hadjar into eighth, Gasly in 11th and needs to improve. He looks on a good lap, though. It is a good lap! Third! 0.189sec off Piastri’s pace.
Verstappen again under pressure heading into the final minutes of Q2, with no time on the board. If you pop your head into the hairdressers repeatedly, sooner or later you are going to get a haircut…
05:47 PM BST
Q2 – Russell begins his second hot lap
He’s 0.091sec down from Piastri in sector one but McLaren have not been especially strong there. Tsunoda is nearly two tenths down at the same pace. He is going to be struggling to make it into Q3 here you feel. Hamilton’s time is similar to Tsunoda’s after one sector.
05:45 PM BST
Q2 – Order as it stands
- PIA 1:30.454
- NOR +0.106
- LEC +0.602
- ANT +0.724
- SAI +0.878
- DOO +0.893
- RUS +0.953
- GAS +1.053
- HUL +1.239
- HAM (no time)
Then in the drop zone it is Verstappen, Hadjar, Ocon, Alonso and Tsunoda.
05:44 PM BST
Q2 – What have the McLarens got?
Piastri is faster than Norris by 0.106sec, which is then 0.602sec faster than Leclerc. A big margin. Verstappen aborts his first flying lap, I am not sure why.
Only the top three drivers on fresh soft tyres, by the looks of it. That explains some of the gaps because I don’t think Ferrari is the second fastest car this weekend.
05:42 PM BST
Q2 – Antonelli faster than Russell
0.229sec in it. Russell struggling a little bit this weekend. Sainz splits the Mercedes cars with his lap time.
05:41 PM BST
Q2 – Antonelli one of the first drivers to set a lap time
After one sector he is slightly slower than his team-mate Russell. Both of them have been noted for leaving their garages before the FIA posted the session resumption time. That could well be a grid penalty, but could also be a fine. Let’s see…
05:39 PM BST
Q2 resumes
Plenty of cars lining up at the end of the pit lane but they end up fairly spread out, as to not get in the way of each other.
05:37 PM BST
Q2 will resume at 5.37pm BST
Not long to wait then. Just over 11 minutes left in the session. Could be a frantic one.
05:34 PM BST
Albon clarifies more on his situation
No issues with the car, we just messed up on our… we went out very late, I had to overtake four or five cars on my out lap to try and get a lap in and then we were sitting in the pit lane for a long time with the blankets off. We started the lap maybe 15 degrees too cold from where we should have been and that was it really.
05:33 PM BST
The damage to Ocon’s car…
🚩 RED FLAG
Ocon has hit the barriers – he’s out of the car and confirms he’s ok. pic.twitter.com/8qmBRlR08j
— The Race (@wearetherace) April 12, 2025
11 minutes and one second left on the clock.
05:32 PM BST
What happened to Ocon?
Was OK for the initial acceleration out of turn three but then got a tankslapper on and couldn’t control the slide and went backwards into the barriers. Not a great weekend for Haas.
05:30 PM BST
Q2 – RED FLAG
Ocon has had a smash somewhere. Turn three by the looks of it. He’s OK but his rear end is destroyed and the red flags come out. Probably got the power down a bit early and lost the rear?
Esteban Ocon confirms he is okay on the radio after a big crash pic.twitter.com/OMwKicvOWC
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) April 12, 2025
05:29 PM BST
Q2 begins!
15 drivers and 10 go through to Q3.
🟢 Q2 GREEN LIGHT 🟢
Cars heading out on track. Fifteen drivers remain.#F1#BahrainGPpic.twitter.com/hWmipH3a1o
— Formula 1 (@F1) April 12, 2025
05:27 PM BST
That was a fine lap from Doohan for fifth
Some encouragement for Hamilton to be in between the McLarens, Verstappen too. That said, neither Norris nor Piastri set a second fast lap, so left plenty of time out there.
05:24 PM BST
Albon not happy
He gives a confused message on the radio. “Sorry guys, but I don’t really…” he says. Lawson eliminated and his team says he had a problem with DRS. It might have cost him a place in Q2.
05:22 PM BST
Q1 – Top 15
These drivers are through.
- NOR 1:31.107
- HAM +0.112
- VER +0.196
- PIA +0.285
- DOO +0.307
- ANT +0.308
- LEC +0.347
- GAS +0.355
- RUS +0.387
- HAD +0.484
- SAI +0.484
- OCO +0.487
- ALO +0.527
- TSU +0.644
- HUL +0.891
05:21 PM BST
Q1 – Drivers eliminated
Albon, Lawson, Bortoleto, Stroll, Bearman.
05:20 PM BST
Q1 – Verstappen goes third
He’s safely through then. What about Tsunoda? 11th. That should be fine too. Lawson is now down into the bottom five. Albon 20th and moves to 14th. Will that be enough? I think so. But no… he is then knocked down to 16th! Sainz is through in the other Williams, though.
05:19 PM BST
Q1 – Bearman gets a bit slidy at the final corner
He only moves to 13th. Antonelli moves third with a decent lap. Hadjar then into the top five, given Verstappen a slight slip stream as he starts his flying lap.
What has Verstappen got? First of all he needs to keep it within the white lines. It’s a bit close at turn four but I think he is OK.
Doohan continues his good form and goes third fastest. Verstappen still wrestling with the car here…
Hamilton moves into second, within a tenth or so of Norris. Verstappen on course to get through here.
05:17 PM BST
Q1 – Final runs under way
As I said, pressure on for the two Red Bull drivers. You’d back Verstappen to do it, but Tsunoda? Let’s see. Piastri and Norris both go out but you would have thought they are both safe. Track evolution can be massive here once the sun goes down so not worth risking anything.
Red Bull under some pressure here. What a turn-up it would be if Verstappen went out in Q1. Can’t see it happening.
05:14 PM BST
Q1 – Order after the first runs
- NOR 1:31.107
- PIA +0.285
- LEC +0.347
- ANT +0.738
- ALO +0.809
- DOO +0.812
- RUS +0.834
- HAM +0.855
- OCO +0.950
- HUL +0.960
In the drop zone are: Stroll, Hadjar, Bortoleto, Verstappen and Tsunoda. The two Red Bull drivers have not set a lap time so far, not through lack of trying. They will have one attempt to get a lap on the board… pressure on.
05:11 PM BST
Q1 – Russell struggling
His lap time is behind his team-mate by a tenth but is 0.834sec away from the fastest time from Norris so far.
05:10 PM BST
Q1 – Maybe it is a good lap from Doohan, though?
Hamilton fails to beat it, but goes second. Piastri is going well but Leclerc goes fastest for now. I don’t think he’ll stay there for long given the form of these McLarens.
Piastri goes fastest by 0.062sec ahead of Leclerc. What has Norris got in his pocket? He beats his team-mate by 0.285sec. Fastest of all.
05:09 PM BST
Q1 – Verstappen locks up massively at the final corner
He runs wide too, so the lap time will be deleted anyway and his front tyres will be ruined anyway, I’d have thought. His Red Bull team-mate Yuki Tsunoda crosses the line faster than Alonso and Gasly. Is that a good lap?
Issues for Max and Red Bull? 👀 pic.twitter.com/i3IyzRxM0d
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) April 12, 2025
Well, Jack Doohan beats it a little while after so I would say no, it is not a good lap. And it gets even worse because that lap gets deleted.
“There’s something really wrong with the car,” Verstappen says as he comes into the pits.
05:07 PM BST
Q1 – Verstappen starts his first hot lap
He had a few issues in final practice but conditions should be more amendable under lights. Turn 11 was where he had problems but this seems to be a pretty decent attempt this time. He’s just a smidgen ahead of Alonso’s time after two sectors.
05:05 PM BST
Q1 – Stroll sets a 1:33.575
What can Alonso and Hulkenberg do? Hulkenberg beats it by seven-tenths and Alonso beats that by nearly half a second… looks like Stroll actually ends up with his lap time being deleted, though, for a track limits violation at turn 13.
05:03 PM BST
Q1 – 16 mins remain
Not a ton of drivers out there early on but the two Aston Martins and Nico Hulkenberg are on track under lights.
05:00 PM BST
GREEN LIGHT: Q1 is go!
18 minutes, 20 drivers and only 15 go through to Q2.
🟢 Q1 GREEN LIGHT 🟢
Qualifying is under way 🙌#F1#BahrainGPpic.twitter.com/BEPXLpGnne
— Formula 1 (@F1) April 12, 2025
04:54 PM BST
Just over five minutes to go
Who will take pole? Here is my top six:
- PIA
- NOR
- VER
- RUS
- LEC
- HAD
04:47 PM BST
Zak Brown speaks about McLaren’s advantage here
“There’s always a compromise in set-up. Sector one we are not as strong as sector two or sector three. Everyone thinks there’s low grip but I have yet to hear a racing driver say a car is perfect.”
He also speaks about McLaren’s strategy last weekend in Japan, where they finished second and third behind Verstappen:
“We could have taken more risk. I think in reviewing it… I think Lando would have been put into traffic. Would we do it different next time? I think it’s in the moment and I am not sure it would have worked.”
04:44 PM BST
Impressive rookies
Plenty of rookies making their full-season debuts in 2025. I think most of them have impressed to some degree. Certainly none of them have looked lost if you discount Lawson’s strange two races at Red Bull. Isack Hadjar probably the stand out for Racing Bulls and then Kimi Antonelli at Mercedes.
Oliver Bearman had a weekend to forget in Australia but was very strong in both China and Suzuka. And, although he has no points, Bortoleto for Sauber has done well over one lap against Nico Hulkenberg, who is a very fine qualifier. Jack Doohan has made a few costly mistakes, but again, has shown some pace for Alpine.
04:35 PM BST
Drivers’ championship outlook
Piastri should arguably have more points after his spin in Australia. That cost him a certain podium. Russell has done a good job at accumulating points so far but you feel that the Mercedes does not quite have the ultimate pace over one lap or a race distance to really contend. In any case, a 17-point gap is a fair one at this stage of the season.
Ferrari are all over the place, really. It is hard to see them getting a championship attempt together. Not perhaps because of how far back they are but because they look so lost. They have a new floor for this weekend and it is only fair to judge how it has done after qualifying and the race.
04:24 PM BST
Raw pace rankings
This shows how fast each team have been over the four qualifying sessions so far, measuring their performance relative to the fastest lap time of the weekend.
As you can see, McLaren lead the way and then it has become a little staggered down the field.
04:20 PM BST
Driver rankings heading into this race
Here is who we think have been the top 10 drivers so far this season.
- Max Verstappen
- Lando Norris
- Oscar Piastri
- George Russell
- Alexander Albon
- Kimi Antonelli
- Charles Leclerc
- Yuki Tsunoda
- Lewis Hamilton
- Nico Hulkenberg
Tsunoda largely that high because of his showings in the first two races. Hamilton has not had a great season but did win the sprint race in China. Still below team-mate Hamilton, though.
04:13 PM BST
Average qualifying position so far
This is the top 10. Not the top 10 drivers, but the top 10 average qualifying positions for both sprint and main grands prix.
Not sure Tsunoda is going to be improving his average figure today, unfortunately. That second Red Bull seat is a real problem.
04:11 PM BST
Welcome back
We are just under an hour away from qualifying starting in Bahrain. As you can see from the lap times, McLaren are strong favourites. Nobody else has manage to optimise their package this weekend with various struggles for the contenders. Max Verstappen seemed particularly displeased in final practice though he was far from the only one.
03:44 PM BST
FP3 recap
McLaren put in another dominant performance in final practice for the Bahrain Grand Prix. Oscar Piastri’s time of 1min31.646sec was 0.668sec faster than team-mate and championship leader Lando Norris. The fastest non-McLaren car was Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari, who was 0.834sec off the pace. Everybody else more than a second adrift of Piastri’s lap time.
Max Verstappen, last weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix winner, was down in eighth nearly 1.4sec off the ultimate pace for Red Bull. Lewis Hamilton had another difficult session for Ferrari, six-tenths off Leclerc and nearly 1.5sec adrift of Piastri.
The caveats here are that several of McLaren’s rivals (and even Norris himself) failed to string a totally clean lap together and that conditions for qualifying will be different under lights. That said, it is a lot of time for any team to claw back in a matter of hours.
There was further pain for Red Bull’s new recruit Yuki Tsunoda, who finished the session down in 20th. Qualifying in Sakhir begins at 5pm BST.
02:39 PM BST
Ominous form from McLaren
Yes, the caveats are that the conditions will be different for qualifying but the fastest non-McLaren was more than 0.8sec behind. I think plenty of their rivals (well, even Lando Norris himself) failed to get the best out of their laps but, yeah, worrying for everyone else. And possibly worrying for Norris, too. Piastri looks totally on it.
02:33 PM BST
FP3 classification
- PIA 1:31.646
- NOR +0.668
- LEC +0.834
- RUS +1.181
- ANT +1.270
- GAS +1.328
- HAD +1.377
- VER +1.381
- SAI +1.446
- HAM +1.465
- OCO +1.594
- DOO +1.701
- LAW +1.724
- ALO +1.902
- ALB +2.107
- BEA +2.689
- STR +2.717
- BOR +2.872
- HUL +2.990
- TSU +3.319
02:31 PM BST
FP3 ends
Piastri leads Norris and Leclerc. Full classification coming up shortly.
02:29 PM BST
FP3 – Into the final five minutes
Sainz is the leading Williams driver in this session and he has looked a little more on the pace of team-mate Albon than at any other race so far in 2025.
He is in ninth, 1.446sec off Piastri and 0.762sec ahead of his team-mate Albon. Not sure what has happened with him though.
02:26 PM BST
FP3 – Norris and Leclerc going again
As is Hamilton. Norris goes second, but nearly seven-tenths off Piastri’s time. On older tyres, yes, but still a big gap.
Leclerc crosses the line into third, and is the only non-McLaren driver within a second of Piastri. Hamilton cannot manage that. He goes 10th, 1.465sec off Piastri.
Rapid from Piastri, who looks unbeatable.
02:23 PM BST
FP3 – What happened on Norris’s fast lap?
He understeered off the track at turn 11 after going in too deep. It’s all a bit of a mess out there for several drivers. Not for Piastri, though. Conditions are difficult and the wind is making it harder still. Russell is fighting the wheel and is a second off Piastri’s time after two sectors.
Russell moves second ahead of Antonelli, but still 1.181sec off Piastri.
02:21 PM BST
FP3 – Piastri moves first
1.328sec faster than Gasly and a little bit further ahead still of Verstappen. Hadjar splits Gasly and Verstappen with a fine lap in the Racing Bull. Antonelli then goes second, but 1.270sec off Piastri’s time. Enormous margin.
02:20 PM BST
FP3 – Verstappen on a quick one
He is up after two sectors, but Piastri is even faster than that with a rapid first sector alone. Norris aborts a quick lap so will not move up the order.
Verstappen goes fastest by nearly three-tenths but is then beaten by Gasly…
What has Piastri got? He’s nearly a second up on Gasly after two sectors.
02:16 PM BST
FP3 – More trouble for Russell
He slides and then spins on the exit of turn 10. He is currently in 13th, 1.563sec off Piastri’s best tine of the session.
“I’d probably go as far as saying that’s the least amount of grip I’ve had in an F1 car,” he says on the way back to the pits.
Tsunoda begins a fast lap on the soft tyres. He is currently in 14th, 1.4sec off his team-mate. He aborts his lap early on. Do not know why.
02:14 PM BST
FP3 – Leclerc loses his left wing-mirror
It wasn’t wobbly before but just flew off as he approached the final couple of corners. He comes back into the pit lane for a repair. Bortoleto has a nasty time at turn 13 as he puts the power down.
Charles’ left wing mirror goes awol! #F1#BahrainGPpic.twitter.com/8oQ8W1UxB0
— Formula 1 (@F1) April 12, 2025
02:13 PM BST
FP3 – Updated top 10
- PIA 1:33.324
- VER +0.234
- NOR +0.472
- ALO +0.913
- LEC +0.934
- HAM +0.974
- GAS +1.248
- HUL +1.312
- LAW +1.323
- HAD +1.357
02:10 PM BST
FP3 – 21 mins remaining
Hulkenberg was in eighth before he retired from the session. Difficult to know who will be the slowest team at each race this year. Haas currently the slowest in this session but they have only run the hard tyres. Most teams running medium and softs only. As I say, don’t read too much into the lap times here.
Meanwhile, Verstappen has moved into second but ran wide at turn four and exceded track limits. It counts, but that would not be the case in qualifying – the lap would be deleted.
02:07 PM BST
FP3 – Green flags again
George Russell has a big lock up at the first turn. Neither he nor Verstappen have set a representative lap time.
Piastri still fastest by 0.472sec from Norris with Alonso third, more than one second off the pace. I don’t think we should read too much into these margins given how different the conditions will be in qualifying (and that the teams will be doing different things in FP3) but you’d rather be in McLaren’s position than anywhere else…
02:02 PM BST
FP3 – Problems for Hulkenberg
Yellow flags with the Sauber stationary at the side of the track at turn eight. He says it switched itself off and went into anti-stall. We now have a virtual safety car.
Nico Hulkenberg has come to a halt at the side of the track triggering a Virtual Safety Car #F1#BahrainGPpic.twitter.com/igSsYAWqsA
— Formula 1 (@F1) April 12, 2025
01:59 PM BST
FP3 – McLaren referring to their running as ‘data gathering’
OK.
Data collecting for the final practice session of the weekend 👊#McLaren | #BahrainGP 🇧🇭 pic.twitter.com/BK4IZ5lDHm
— McLaren (@McLarenF1) April 12, 2025
I don’t think anyone really wants to see McLaren run away with it this year or weekend. They have shown pace on a variety of tracks so far. I don’t think we have seen the best from Ferrari or Red Bull, Suzuka aside for the latter. It all finished last season very close but that has not really been the case this year, the standings aside.
01:57 PM BST
FP3 – A few drivers not to set a lap time
Verstappen, Hadjar, Lawson, Antonelli and Russell, who has not even left the garage yet.
01:56 PM BST
FP3 – A fine lap from Piastri puts him first
Nearly half a second faster than Norris. Verstappen making some changes to his RB21. It is the usual trend of things for Verstappen and Red Bull to get closer as the weekend goes on but it is a big task here.
01:54 PM BST
FP3 – Current order
- NOR 1:33.796
- ALO +0.441
- GAS +0.932
- HAM +1.050
- HUL +1.081
- LEC +1.107
- DOO +1.651
- STR +1.717
- TSU +1.988
- OCO +2.314
Piastri starts his flying lap…
01:52 PM BST
FP3 – Norris goes fastest
Norris is tearing it up after two sectors, though Verstappen has set the fastest first sector. Norris crosses the line 1.050sec faster than Hamilton. Verstappen aborts his lap after running deep and wide at turn 11. The car did not want to turn in, or he carried too much speed in.
“Yeah, that’s ——- terrible,” he says on the radio. Looked it. Not even close to making it.
01:49 PM BST
FP3 – Gasly into third
Within three tenths of Hamilton’s fastest time. The two Red Bulls of Verstappen and Tsunoda are now out too. Again, these are not optimal conditions to run in, really. Lando Norris also out for McLaren and he is about to start his first hot lap.
01:44 PM BST
FP3 – Hamilton goes fastest
Hamilton is on a hot lap on the softs. Well, not quite full qualifying pace as he rounds the final corner and crosses the line with a 1:34.846sec, 1.563sec faster than Ocon.
A lot less grip out there in the late evening sun than there will be under the lights. Charles Leclerc in the other Ferrari is out on track now, as are the two Alpines of Pierre Gasly and Jack Doohan.
Leclerc then crosses the line and goes second, within a tenth of Hamilton ahead. Some lap time to find for Ferrari after a disappointing Friday.
01:40 PM BST
FP3 – Hamilton aborts his lap
Ocon has set a lap time that beats Bearman, but very little else going on. Wind has picked up significantly since yesterday too. Ocon complains of bouncing in the lap.
01:36 PM BST
FP3 – Bearman sets the first lap time
It’s a 1:37.825, so some 7.2sec slower than the fastest time in FP3 yesterday. Lewis Hamilton is out there in the Ferrari, as is the other Haas of Esteban Ocon.
Not wasting too much time, @LewisHamilton hits the track for the final practice session 👊 pic.twitter.com/4JaVVQrkOX
— Scuderia Ferrari HP (@ScuderiaFerrari) April 12, 2025
01:32 PM BST
GREEN LIGHT: FP3 begins
Nobody that keen to get out at the very start but we get a handful of them after a minute or so.
01:29 PM BST
Just a few minutes to go until we get going
Air temperature 33 degrees, humidity 46 per cent and track temperature 33c.
It’s a toasty 32℃ and a bit breezy here in Sakhir
We’ve got FP3 coming up before qualifying under the lights later! 🙌#F1#BahrainGPpic.twitter.com/C35TlCIMoZ
— Formula 1 (@F1) April 12, 2025
01:22 PM BST
A reminder of the constructor standings, too
I think McLaren will walk this one this season. Strong driver line-up and the best car.
01:20 PM BST
Norris does not think McLaren are uncatchable
Here is what he said after FP2 yesterday.
“A difficult day, just re-adapting back to the reality of Bahrain, the difficulties of Bahrain, which make it tough. It will make it exciting on Sunday, because the degradation is incredible today comparing to the test.
“It’s kind of weird today, because everything feels dreadful but I think relatively our pace was still in a reasonable place. I think a reasonable Friday. I think it’s just conditions. It’s just the temperature, it’s hot, it’s windy… it’s more the temperature which makes such a big difference. It is what it is, it’s the same challenge for everyone.”
“I just don’t think they turned up. Everyone just looks at the timesheets, they have no idea about the information on who turns up, who doesn’t… it’s like three-and-a-half, four-tenths around here, so that puts us back in the same position as the Mercedes.”
Norris has been consistent on downplaying McLaren’s advantage this season. Of course, the narrative that they are miles ahead does not suit him personally as it puts pressure on. It also goes some way to undermining his achievements.
Personally I don’t really buy that McLaren are miles ahead, so agree with Norris on that front. They are the fastest car by a few tenths, though they still have to make sure they deliver. And that is not always easy. However, they do look in exceptional form here, so disagree with him there.
01:09 PM BST
Current driver standings
01:01 PM BST
Verstappen says Red Bull ‘just too slow’
“[It] took like one lap, two laps to get into it, but still the gap was quite massive, so not entirely happy. Just struggling a lot with grip, feeling in general. The balance wasn’t too bad but just, yeah, off, and quite a bit of work to do also in the long run.
“We’re just too slow basically every lap, and it was honestly not a lot of fun out there in the long run. A bit of drift practice at the end there as well,”
12:49 PM BST
Watch: Alonso’s steering wheel falls off
One of the stranger moments of the day yesterday…
Not something you see often… 😳 Fernando Alonso’s steering wheel FALLS OFF! 😱 pic.twitter.com/U06MCeYj2K
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) April 11, 2025
12:44 PM BST
Times after second practice
- Oscar Piastri (Aus) McLaren 1min 30.505secs
- Lando Norris (Gbr) McLaren 1:30.659
- George Russell (Gbr) Mercedes GP 1:31.032
- Charles Leclerc (Mon) Ferrari 1:31.045
- Andrea Kimi Antonelli (Ita) Mercedes GP 1:31.227
- Isack Hadjar (Fra) RB 1:31.238
- Max Verstappen (Ned) Red Bull 1:31.330
- Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) Ferrari 1:31.576
- Oliver Bearman (Gbr) Haas F1 1:31.584
- Carlos Sainz Jr (Spa) Williams 1:31.623
- Alexander Albon (Tha) Williams 1:31.696
- Liam Lawson (Nzl) RB 1:31.706
- Gabriel Bortoleto (Bra) Kick Sauber 1:31.772
- Jack Doohan (Aus) Alpine 1:31.788
- Fernando Alonso (Spa) Aston Martin 1:31.825
- Esteban Ocon (Fra) Haas F1 1:31.870
- Pierre Gasly (Fra) Alpine 1:31.947
- Yuki Tsunoda (Jpn) Red Bull 1:32.024
- Lance Stroll (Can) Aston Martin 1:32.382
- Nico Hulkenberg (Ger) Kick Sauber 1:32.496
12:33 PM BST
Good afternoon
Welcome to our coverage for third and final practice for the Bahrain Grand Prix with qualifying for Sunday’s race coming later this evening. It is the fourth race of the 2025 Formula One season and looks likely to be the first one to be run in warm conditions, after fairly cool races in Australia, China and Japan. Who will that favour?
On the balance of everything we have seen so far in Sakhir, it will be McLaren. In yesterday’s second practice session (run under lights, the same time of day as qualifying and the race) they were comfortably fastest. Oscar Piastri’s lap time of 1min30.505sec was a tenth and a half faster than team-mate Lando Norris.
The next best man, Mercedes’ George Russell, was more than half a second off the pace with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc just a little further back. Regardless of what engine modes were being run and how much fuel teams were carrying, that is a lot of ground to make up.
Further down the field were Kimi Antonelli in fifth, Isack Hadjar in sixth and Max Verstappen for Red Bull. They were all between 0.7 and 0.8sec off the pace. Verstappen did not have the most comfortable session, complaining about his RB21 several times. He was the winner last weekend in Japan, but it would take a monumental turnaround for him to win tomorrow, you feel. I would not rule him out of podium contention, though.
It was a tough session for Lewis Hamilton again, who was well adrift of Ferrari team-mate Leclerc. The seven-time champion was more than a second off Piastri’s pace as Ferrari’s struggles appear to have continued despite bringing a new floor to this race. Behind Hamilton it was very competitive, with just 0.45sec separating Hamilton and Yuki Tsunoda in 18th. The problem for Tsunoda, after a fairly promising showing in Japan, is that he appears to have been put back on the course that Liam Lawson was on, which led to his dropping.
Anyway, FP3 begins at 1.30pm BST and we will be here for all the updates in the final practice session before qualifying.
