#F1 #BahrainGP FP3: @OscarPiastri heads dominant @McLarenF1 one-two.
Oscar Piastri, #81, McLaren Formula 1 Team-Mercedes, MCL39, Free Practice 3, Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix 2025, Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir, Bahrain. Image credit to Clive Mason/Getty Images. Piastri Bahrain GP FP3, Bahrain GP FP3 Results, F1 Bahrain GP FP3, Formula 1 Bahrain FP3, 2025 Bahrain GP FP3.
Piastri Bahrain GP FP3 – Oscar Piastri lead from team-mate Lando Norris in a dominant McLaren one-two in the afternoon FP3 session at the Bahrain GP as Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc completed the top three and was over half-a-second on the leading MCL39 entry.
Piastri set the session-topping benchmark of a 1:32.646 and was 0.668 seconds clear of Norris whilst Leclerc was 0.834 seconds off in third.
The first car to enter on-track was MoneyGram Haas F1 Team’s Oliver Bearman who emerged on the C1 white-branded harder compound.
The Briton was the first to initial the benchmark time of a 1:37.825 whilst his team-mate Esteban Ocon and Ferrari’s Hamilton joined him on circuit.
Ocon also was on the C1’s like his team-mate as Hamilton was on the faster C3 softer tyre.
Ocon jumped to the top with his 1:36.409 effort whilst Hamilton aborted his flyer and returned back to the pits.
As the afternoon was wearing on the track temperatures were beginning to go a little cooler dropping down to 43 degrees whilst the air temperature was sitting at 32 degrees, which helped with the grip levels especially as the rubber continued to get laid down.
Hamilton then jumped to the top of the pile with two purple sectors with a 1:34.846 as his team-mate Charles Leclerc then moved to second on a 1:34.903 running also a set of used softs.
Meanwhile Alpine sent both Pierre Gasly and Jack Doohan on a set of the C2 yellow side-walled mediums, which was an interesting decision as a two-stopper is likely for tomorrow’s Bahrain Grand Prix and teams will need mediums and harder rubber available.
Replays showed Doohan running wide and the Australian slotted his A525 racer into fourth behind his team-mate Gasly who jumped into third with a 1:35.106 effort.
Championship leader Lando Norris was next posting a personal best in sector one and two purples to jump to P1 on a 1:33.796 and was 1.050 seconds faster than Hamilton’s benchmark for McLaren as Red Bull’s Verstappen ran wide at the sweeping turn 11 left hander.
Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg relegated Leclerc down to fourth with his effort to be over 1.081 seconds off of Norris’s time.
Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso then jumped up to second with a 1:34.237 whilst Piastri then shot to the top of the time-sheets with a 1:33.324 effort.
Leclerc then improved to move up into fourth with his time and was 1.211 seconds off of Piastri’s benchmark.
Meanwhile, Sauber’s Hulkenberg then planted his Sauber to fifth in the order with a 1:34.636.
The drivers found the turn 11 left hander to be the most difficult catching them out due to the tail wind as Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson reported. Both Hamilton and Verstappen got caught out with it earlier on their flyers.
At just under the midway point, Sauber’s Hulkenberg came to a halt at turn eight after his C47 racer got stuck into anti-stall and the virtual safety car was deployed.
After the German’s car was cleared and the action returned, replays showed Mercedes’ George Russell suffer a massive lock-up into the turn one right-hand hairpin on his set of C2 medium compounds and had to abandon his effort.
Leclerc then improved on his effort to go 0.934 seconds off Piastri’s benchmark whilst Verstappen after some setup changes to his RB21 moved up into second on a 1:33.558 and was 0.234 seconds off the McLaren on his set of the C3 softs.
Russell after going again, moved into 12th on his mediums with a 1:34.887 and was 1.563 seconds adrift of Piastri’s session-topper.
Russell wanted to be ahead of Lawson, so he squeezed past the Racing Bulls VCARB02 entry. It did not impress the Kiwi, who reported on the radio “so annoying.” As the Mercedes went by.
Meanwhile at the final corner, replays showed Leclerc’s SF-25 racer fly off the car.
Sauber’s Bortoleto with two personal bests moved up into seventh on his qualifying simulation hot-lap to set a 1:34.518.
Replays showed Russell suffer a spin at turn ten on his stint as the Briton returned back to the pits and reported that it was the least amount of grip he had.
With 15 minutes on the clock driver bolted on a fresh set of the C3 softs for their qualifying simulation runs.
Alonso was first and remained in fourth place on the time-sheets and was still over half-a-second down.
Williams’ Alexander Albon followed and pulled ahead of Alonso to jump into fourth with his effort.
Verstappen was on his flyer next with three personal bests to go fastest on a 1:33.027 and was 0.297 seconds ahead of Piastri.
Piastri once again scored three purple seconds post a 1:31.646 and was a whopping 1.328 seconds clear of Gasly as Hadjar slotted into third.
Mercedes’ Andrea Kimi Antonelli then relegated Gasly to third with his effort setting a 1:32.916 whilst Norris was shown running wide and having to abandon his hot-lap.
With three personal bests it was Russell who then moved up into second in the order to push team-mate Antonelli down in third.
Norris was next posting a 1:32.314 and was still over half-a-second off his team-mate whilst Leclerc moved up into third with a 1:32.480 as Hamilton could only got tenth and was 1.465 off Piastri’s benchmark.
Piastri ended the session quickest ahead of team-mate Norris with Leclerc third.
The two Silver Arrows followed with Russell the leading Mercedes ahead of Antonelli in fourth as Gasly was sixth.
Racing Bulls’ Hadjar took seventh and in-front of Red Bull’s Verstappen who placed eighth in the classification.
Williams’ Carlos Sainz and Ferrari’s Hamilton completed the top ten runners.
Haas’s Ocon ended final practice outside the top ten in 11th place and ahead of Alpine’s Doohan who finished FP3 in 12th and Racing Bulls’ Lawson who took 13th.
Alonso and Albon were next in 14th and 15th respectively as Bearman was down in 16th in the other VF-25 entry.
Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll was down in 17th and ahead of Sauber pairing Bortoleto and Hulkenberg who were 18th and 19th in the order.
Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda brought up the rear and had not posted a better qualifying simulation effort.
You can see the full Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix 2025 Free Practice 3 Results Classification at the link: https://www.formula1.com/en/results/2025/races/1257/bahrain/practice/3
#F1 #BahrainGP FP2: @OscarPiastri pips @McLarenF1 team-mate @LandoNorris by 0.154s.
#F1 #BahrainGP FP1: @LandoNorris quickest ahead of #Gasly, @LewisHamilton.
