As the teams go over the data, there is little time before they are back on track in six days’ time. But what have they learned – and what we learned?
Just what is the F1 pecking order and what trends have we seen? Who’s in the best place to challenge Red Bull?
In our video, Steph Wentworth chats with our experts Jonathan Noble and Sam Hall to answer all these questions and more.
Bahrain Test Day 3 recap:
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc topped the final day by lapping in 1m30.322s on the C4 tyre, which won’t be in use during next weekend’s Bahrain Grand Prix weekend.
George Russell of Mercedes also bolted on the C4s for his final run of the test and lapped 0.046s shy of Leclerc’s time. Zhou Guanyu did likewise and got to within three tenths of a second of their pace in his Sauber.
Leclerc’s fastest time was 0.433s faster than Red Bull’s world champion Max Verstappen, who topped the opening day of running, who set his best time of 1m30.755s for fourth on the C3 compound that will be the season-opening event’s soft tyre.
Yuki Tsunoda was fifth in Red Bull’s junior team, RB, also running C4s, ahead of Alex Albon (Williams), Oscar Piastri (McLaren) and Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin).
Carlos Sainz’s 1m29.921s, set using the C4 tyre during yesterday’s running, remained the fastest time of the week.
He was ninth quickest today, having only run in the morning.
Full Bahrain testing results: Sainz fastest overall for Ferrari
| Pos | Driver (Car/Engine) | 21 Feb | 22 Feb | 23 Feb |
| 1 | Carlos Sainz Jr. Ferrari SF-24 / Ferrari 066/12 |
1’32.584 69 |
1’29.921 84 |
1’31.247 71 |
| 2 | Charles Leclerc Ferrari SF-24 / Ferrari 066/12 |
1’33.247 64 |
1’31.750 54 |
1’30.322 74 |
| 3 | George Russell Mercedes F1 W15 E Performance / M15 |
1’34.109 122 |
1’30.368 67 |
|
| 4 | Zhou Guanyu Sauber C44 / Ferrari 066/12 |
1’33.871 63 |
1’33.715 38 |
1’30.647 85 |
| 5 | Sergio Pérez Red Bull RB20 / Honda RBPT H002 |
1’30.679 129 |
1’31.483 53 |
|
| 6 | Max Verstappen Red Bull RB20 / Honda RBPT H002 |
1’31.344 143 |
1’30.755 66 |
|
| 7 | Yuki Tsunoda RB VCARB 01 / Honda RBPT H002 |
1’34.136 64 |
1’38.074 40 |
1’30.775 53 |
| 8 | Alexander Albon Williams FW46 / Mercedes F1 M15 |
1’34.587 40 |
1’30.984 121 |
|
| 9 | Oscar Piastri McLaren MCL38 / Mercedes F1 M15 |
1’33.658 57 |
1’32.328 35 |
1’31.030 91 |
| 10 | Lewis Hamilton Mercedes F1 W15 E Performance / M15 |
1’31.066 123 |
1’31.999 49 |
|
| 11 | Fernando Alonso Aston Martin AMR24 / Mercedes F1 M15 |
1’33.385 77 |
1’33.053 31 |
1’31.159 75 |
| 12 | Lando Norris McLaren MCL38 / Mercedes F1… |
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