#BahrainTestDay3 as it happened: @Max33Verstappen ends final day on top. #F1

Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen topped the time-sheets on the final day of pre-season testing at the Bahrain International Circuit, just in-front of Scuderia AlphaTauri’s Yuki Tsunoda who ensured a Honda-powered one-two.

Tsunoda posted a series of fastest lap times late in the session on the Pirelli Zero C5 softer tyres, and as Verstappen put on the C4’s, the two had a thrilling time-attack battle under the lights. But it was the Dutchman who came out on top setting a 1:28.690, with Tsunoda only 0.093 seconds off. Verstappen’s new team-mate Sergio Perez was quickest in the morning session on the C4 compounds and wound up sixth in the classification to complete a promising test for the Milton Keynes-based outfit.

Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz was third fastest, with the Spaniard suffering a brief halt in the running due to a hydraulics problem but clocked up 79 laps in total having emerged later on in the session. His team-mate Charles Leclerc was second in the morning and 10^th at the end on the medium rubber.

Right near the end of the session, Sainz and Alfa Romeo Racing’s Kimi Raikkonen fought in a dramatic on-track scuffle, with the pairing briefly tangling and going off circuit in the closing moments.

Reigning World Champion Lewis Hamilton lost valuable time having been stuck in the Mercedes garage for the first hour in the afternoon running, with the Briton only emerging when the sun was setting. Hamilton used the C5 softer tyres late on to round out the top five, behind Raikkonen – who completed a whooping 165 laps in mileage. Hamilton however, found it difficult to put together quick sectors in his final qualifying simulation runs, even suffering a spin in his final few tours in an unstable-looking F1 W12.

Hamilton’s Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas was seventh fastest in the morning running. 16^th at the end with more than 80 laps in mileage completed – though the Finn encountered moments of understeer throughout his duties. Bottas complained of a “snappy” and “unforgiving” rear end of his F1 W12 racer yesterday, but he stated that the issues seemed to have been eased at lunch-time on the third day. Although, it has not been the efficient and merciless performances we’ve come to expect from the World Champions.

Williams Racing’s George Russell claimed sixth place on the C5 softer tyres on his hot lap as the Briton made his pre-season testing debut on Sunday, after test driver Roy Nissany and team-mate Nicholas Latifi drove on the other two days. Russell wracked up 160 laps in mileage on the final day of running for the Grove-based squad having day three allocated to himself.

McLaren’s Lando Norris ended the morning third fastest – 11^th in the time-sheets at the end – but team-mate Daniel Ricciardo eclipsed his effort after 90 minutes of afternoon running, taking seventh place on the C4 rubber. The duo achieved 110 laps in mileage in a solid last day of testing for the Woking-based outfit.

Alpine F1 Team’s Fernando Alonso hinted recently that the Enstone-squad would not undertake qualifying simulations on Sunday, as the Spaniard was ninth fastest on C4 tyres – as team-mate Esteban Ocon finished 13^th on the time-sheets using the mediums. The pairing completed over 60 laps each, giving a solid total for Alpine.

Although Tsunoda was second overall when the final day’s running ended, his AlphaTauri team-mate Pierre Gasly was 12^th quickest having run in the morning for the Faenza-based outfit. Gasly best effort was posted on the slower C3 compounds.

Uralkali Haas F1 Team’s Nikita Mazepin completed 67 laps in total and wound-up 14^th on the time-sheets on the C4’s, half a second quicker than team-mate Mick Schumacher – who was full of confidence after completing his morning duties at lunchtime, with the German keen to hit the ground running in the season-opener in less than two weeks.

Lastly, Aston Martin Cognizant F1 Team endured further problems in the final day’s running, which saw Sebastian Vettel miss out on his stint under the lights. The German completed a decent 56 tours, but the issue – was revealed to be a turbo-boost pressure loss – which prevented Vettel from partaking in the final hour-and-a-half of the session. He finished in a low 17^th, as team-mate Lance Stroll completed 80 laps and brought up the rear with both using the medium compounds for their quick efforts.

Red Bull Racing’s promising pace has created attraction ahead of the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix, with seven-time World Champion Hamilton suggesting that Mercedes have a tough battle on their hands due to Verstappen and Perez’s solid testing showing.

Who really is the quickest in the field? We will found out Sunday March 28 when the lights go out in round one of the 2021 FIA Formula One World Championship at the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Fastest Laps Of Pre-Season Testing Per Driver

Fastest Laps Of Pre-Season Testing Per Team

The Most Completed Laps Per Team

You can catch up on the highlights of the final day of pre-season testing at the link below:

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZ-JgoftTTY

Read all about the first two days of testing at the links below:

2021 Formula 1 Aramco Pre-Season Testing Day Two – #BahrainTestDay2 as it happened: @ValtteriBottas tops the time-sheets. #F1

2021 Formula 1 Aramco Pre-Season Testing Day One – #BahrainTestDay1: @RedBullRacing’s @Max33Verstappen quickest. #F1