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FP3: Raikkonen ends final practice on top

Published on 07 Apr 2018 15:01
3
By: Fergal Walsh

Kimi Raikkonen has ended the final practice session from Bahrain on top, getting the better of both Mercedes' and Red Bulls. The Finn's best lap time was a 1:29.868.

There's concern on the other side of the Ferrari garage as Sebastian Vettel returned to the pit-lane, reporting an issue over the radio. The German's session ended early as his team went to work on the car, investigating a suspected power unit issue.

Max Verstappen was second, but he was over half a second down on Raikkonen. Verstappen headed his teammate Daniel Ricciardo and Briton Lewis Hamilton. The reigning world champion struggled on his fast laps, with his car oversteering and running wide.

Vettel was fifth, ahead of the second Mercedes of Valtteri Bottas. Following the Silver Arrow was the two Renault's of Nico Hulkenberg and Carlos Sainz, who will be looking to get the jump on McLaren and Haas as the weekend progresses.

Pierre Gasly and Brendon Hartley showed encouraging pace in the Toro Rosso-Honda, positioning themselves in P9 and P11. Sandwiched in between them in tenth place was Spaniard Fernando Alonso.

Romain Grosjean was P12 for Haas, leading the Force India duo of Esteban Ocon and Sergio Perez. The remaining Haas of Kevin Magnussen followed the Pink Panthers on the timesheets.

Williams appears to be in big trouble around the Bahrain International Circuit, as it ended the practice session bottom of the timesheets, behind both Saubers. Qualifying for the race gets underway at 4 PM UK time.

Fergal Walsh

F1Grand Prix Bahrain - Free practice 3

Bahrain International Circuit - 07 April 2018

Driver

Team

Time

Difference

#
1

Kimi Räikkönen

Ferrari

1:29.868

15
2

Max Verstappen

Red Bull Racing

1:30.393

+0.525

8
3

Daniel Ricciardo

Red Bull Racing

1:30.452

+0.584

8
4

Lewis Hamilton

Mercedes

1:30.691

+0.823

14
5

Sebastian Vettel

Ferrari

1:30.719

+0.851

8
6

Valtteri Bottas

Mercedes

1:30.781

+0.913

16
7

Nico Hülkenberg

Renault

1:31.144

+1.276

11
8

Carlos Sainz jr

Renault

1:31.200

+1.332

12
9

Pierre Gasly

Toro Rosso

1:31.438

+1.570

18
10

Fernando Alonso

McLaren

1:31.445

+1.577

13
11

Brendon Hartley

Toro Rosso

1:31.460

+1.592

18
12

Romain Grosjean

Haas F1

1:31.513

+1.645

14
13

Esteban Ocon

Force India

1:31.554

+1.686

17
14

Sergio Perez

Force India

1:31.564

+1.696

14
15

Kevin Magnussen

Haas F1

1:31.737

+1.869

14
16

Marcus Ericsson

Sauber

1:31.859

+1.991

17
17

Stoffel Vandoorne

McLaren

1:31.860

+1.992

14
18

Charles Leclerc

Sauber

1:32.047

+2.179

19
19

Sergey Sirotkin

Williams

1:32.463

+2.595

11
20

Lance Stroll

Williams

1:32.865

+2.997

12

Photos Bahrain 2018

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F1 News Max Verstappen Daniel Ricciardo Lewis Hamilton Sebastian Vettel Kimi Räikkönen Mercedes Ferrari

Replies (3)

calle.itw

Posts: 8,527
STR looking good again. Meanwhile even Sauber is ahead of Williams... Bloody hell.
- + 0
- Apr 7 2018 - 15:33
- Kean
  
  Posts: 692
  I did not see Sauber being ahead of Williams this soon, maybe it's track specific. But it's great to see how close it is from 7 to 18. STR I think will fall behind on race pace, but they certainly seem to have one lap speed.
  + 0
  
  Apr 7 2018 - 16:51
- calle.itw
  
  Posts: 8,527
  I think its a one time thing, but if this is real, this is abysmal stuff from Williams. Come on, a Mercedes powered team down fighting for scraps!
  + 0
  
  Apr 8 2018 - 08:35