Charles Leclerc and Ferrari secured the top spot on the third day of Bahrain winter testing as pre-season drew to a close.
Morning session
The morning session saw Carlos Sainz top the charts once again for Ferrari with the C3 compound, just 0.236s faster than Red Bull’s Sergio Perez who increased his rhythm from yesterday.
Lewis Hamilton with Mercedes managed a consistent run and placed third, though he did so with the C5 compound -the fastest available-, placing a P3 shy of Perez.
Race pace simulations were present as teams prepare for Bahrain next week – all teams worked on it.
Ricciardo and Magnussen did the most laps, with 65 and 63 respectively.
Formula 1 once again lost the battle against the same drain cover that caused issues yesterday, forcing a red flag and a re-accommodation of the day’s schedule, cancelling the lunch break and extending the session straight to end of the afternoon stint.
| Pos | Driver | Team | Time | Tire |
| 1 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | 1:31.247 | C3 |
| 2 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull | +0.236 | C3 |
| 3 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | +0.752 | C5 |
| 4 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | +0.791 | C3 |
| 5 | Lando Norris | McLaren | +0.861 | C3 |
| 6 | Alexander Albon | Williams | +1.336 | C3 |
| 7 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | +1.806 | C3 |
| 8 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine | +1.832 | C3 |
| 9 | Valtteri Bottas | Sauber | +2.281 | C3 |
| 10 | Daniel Ricciardo | RB F1 | +5.768 | C1 |
Afternoon session
In the afternoon session, Max Verstappen replaced Perez in the RB20, while Leclerc took over from Sainz in the Ferrari. Leclerc quickly set the third-fastest time, behind Sainz and Perez. However, Verstappen then set a 1.31.058s, followed by a 1.30.763s, both on used C3 tires, 25 minutes later.
Leclerc responded with a 1.30.409s on the softer C4 compound, which won’t be used in the upcoming Bahrain Grand Prix. With two hours remaining, Leclerc improved by going four tenths quicker than Verstappen.
As the session progressed, most teams focused on longer runs on harder tires. However, Yuki Tsunoda surprised by using C4s to climb to third, followed by George Russell.
Albon was the only driver to remain in the car all day, completing 121 laps in the Williams FW46. Russell attempted to beat Leclerc’s time but fell short, finishing second, 0.046s behind. Zhou Guanyu was third, pushing Verstappen down to fourth.
Oscar Piastri and Fernando Alonso moved up to seventh and eighth respectively. Sainz’s morning time was ninth fastest, ahead of Perez and Hulkenberg.
Lewis Hamilton finished 12th after completing 49 laps in the morning session. Lance Stroll and Lando Norris followed him, with Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon in 15th and 17th, separated by Kevin Magnussen.
Valtteri Bottas was 18th after limited morning running, with Daniel Ricciardo the slowest of the 19 active drivers on Friday.
| Pos | Driver | Team | Time | Tire |
| 1 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:30.322 | C4 |
| 2 | George Russell | Mercedes | +0.046 | C4 |
| 3 | Zhou Guanyu | Sauber | +0.325 | C4 |
| 4 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | +0.433 | C3 |
| 5 | Yuki Tsunoda | RB F1 | +0.453 | C4 |
| 6 | Alexander Albon | Williams | +0.662 | C4 |
| 7 | Oscar Piastri | Mclaren | +0.708 | C3 |
| 8 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | +0.837 | C3 |
| 9 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | +0.925 | C3 |
| 10 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull | +1.161 | C3 |
| 11 | Nico Hulkenberg | Haas | +1.364 | C3 |
| 12 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | +1.677 | C5 |
| 13 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | +1.716 | C3 |
| 14 | Lando Norris | Mclaren | +1.786 | C3 |
| 15 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | +1.827 | C3 |
| 16 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | +2.731 | C3 |
| 17 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine | +2.757 | C3 |
| 18 | Valtteri Bottas | Sauber | +3.206 | C3 |
| 19 | Daniel Ricciardo | RB F1 | +6.693 | C1 |
The 2024 season begins with the Bahrain Grand Prix, which will be held on a Saturday this year and starts with first practice on Thursday.