Carlos Sainz completes pre-season testing with 78 laps in Bahrain. Report from the afternoon session in Bahrain.

2021 Formula One pre-season is complete and the next time we hit the track it’ll be a race weekend! And in two weeks here in Bahrain, no less. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen ended the third and final day of Formula 1 pre-season testing on top, setting the fastest time of the Bahrain test on Sunday afternoon.

After a tame morning session, in which most teams focused on long runs, times gradually started tumbling as day turned into night at the Bahrain International Circuit.

Carlos Sainz was back out on track after a hydraulics issue on the SF21 in the final stages of the afternoon session, as the problem did not end Ferrari’s testing early. The Spanish driver then posted his and Ferrari’s best time of the day, with a personal best of 1m29.611s, almost seven tenths behind Max Verstappen benchmark time on this last day in Bahrain.

Scuderia Ferrari will now have two weeks to analyse the data gathered during the three days of testing at the Bahrain International Circuit in order to identify the best setup and configurations for the first Grand Prix of the 2021 Formula 1 championship, on March 28.

Here are the final standings and times from the Bahrain International Circuit on the third day of pre-season testing for the 2021 season:

1. Max Verstappen, Red Bull, 1:28.960, 55 laps, soft tyres (C4)
2. Yuki Tsunoda, AlphaTauri, +0.093, 83 laps, soft tyres (C5)
3. Carlos Sainz, Ferrari, +0.651, 78 laps, soft tyres (C4)
4. Kimi Raikkonen, Alfa Romeo, +0.806, 150 laps, soft tyres (C5)
5. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, +1.065, 47 laps, soft tyres (C5)
6. George Russell, Williams, +1.157, 140 laps, soft tyres (C5)
7. Daniel Ricciardo, McLaren, +1.184, 38 laps, soft tyres (C4)
8. Sergio Perez, Red Bull, +1.227, 49 laps, soft tyres (C4)
9. Fernando Alonso, Alpine, +1.358, 45 laps, soft tyres (C4)
10. Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, +1.526, 80 laps, medium tyres (C3)
11. Lando Norris, McLaren, +1.701, 56 laps, medium tyres (C3)
12. Pierre Gasly, AlphaTauri, +1.868, 76 laps, soft tyres (C4)
13. Esteban Ocon, Alpine, +2.350, 61 laps, medium tyres (C3)
14. Nikita Mazepin, Haas, +2.571, 39 laps, soft tyres (C4)
15. Mick Schumacher, Haas, +3.093, 78 laps, medium tyres (C3)
16. Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes, +3.446, 86 laps, medium tyres (C3)
17. Sebastian Vettel, Aston Martin, +6.081, 56 laps, medium tyres (C3)
18. Lance Stroll, Aston Martin, +7.140, 80 laps, medium tyres (C3)