Pole position is not always key to race victory in Bahrain, but the fastest car in Bahrain can often point to who the world champion might be. Only eight out of thee 18 pole sitters have won the Grand Prix. However, 12 out of the 18 races have seen the car of pole become the team to win the drivers’ championship. So we should play close attention as the drivers show the full pace of these new cars later today.
While Scuderia Ferrari haven’t be in the headlines, do not discount the prancing horse of Ferrari. While they looked a step back from Red Bull and Aston Martin, those in the Formula 1 paddock believe that Ferrari’s poorer pace was less real than that of Mercedes. Their slow acceleration out of corners could suggest the engine mode was turned down – so it was interesting to see if Ferrari could join the fight today.
It was therefore time to focus on the final free practice session ahead of the qualifying session at the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir. Green light but it was hot in Bahrain so it looked like everyone was taking their time. Lando Norris was the sole driver out on track in the early stages with everyone else still in the garage. Despite having the track to himself, Norris had a bit of a wobble at Turn 10 as he wrestled with his car. He quietly had a great first day yesterday in a McLaren that is clearly not up to scratch to start the F1 2023 season. While only ninth, Norris was half a second quicker than his highly-touted new team-mate Oscar Piastri in Practice Two yesterday, and he may well be battling for Q3 against the odds later today.
Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen joined Lando Norris on track, opting for the medium tyre, with Norris on the softs. George Russell and Lewis Hamilton were also on their out lap, with Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz heading out too in the SF-23 cars, while it didn’t look like Red Bull would be joining anytime soon, with Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez not in their cars after the first 15 minutes.
It didn’t mean much at the moment, but Lewis Hamilton went fastest of those out on the track with a 1:33.508. Charles Leclerc came close, but sat 0.066s off Hamilton’s time, with George Russell then in third. Despite going purple in the first two sectors, Carlos Sainz couldn’t beat Lewis Hamilton’s time and sat 0.015s off the Mercedes’ pace. Ferrari are the big unknown this weekend, with neither Charles or Carlos to have nailed a soft tyre lap in evening conditions – either this weekend or throughout the three days of testing.
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The Spaniard dropped in just behind Hamilton, with the Mercedes much faster in the final sector. Still we have the feeling there’s a lot more pace in that red car. But Fernando Alonso was also speedy! He went purple in all three sectors and that put him top of the timesheet and 0.387s quicker than Lewis Hamilton. Genuinely, Aston Martin are up there.
Max Verstappen was on the team radio as he felt he was suffering with a lack of grip on the hard tyres: “I have no grip, I have no grip,” said Verstappen. Despite the complaint, he was only 0.583s off the pace.
Once again, George Russell was finding himself low down on the timesheet, sitting in 14th and 0.981s off the pace, while Carlos Sainz made his way back out onto the track, but it was a slower lap for the Spaniard and he couldn’t improve from 3rd. We weren’t seeing much movement on the timesheet in the final 20minutes and it isn’t a very nice sight for McLaren: Oscar Piastri was highest on the timesheet in 11th, with Lando Norris down in 16th.
However, Lance Stroll then usurped his teammate to take top spot on the timesheet with a 1:32.919. Fernando Alosno was now 0.202s off his teammate. Stroll was 0.9s down on Alonso on the first runs. Max Verstappen was out on the soft tyres and he immediately put in a quick time to go top, but he was then usurped immediately by Fernando Alonso who put in a 1:32.340. Verstappen was 0.005s off the Aston Martin so it was TIGHT! Interestingly, each of the three sectors had a different fastest driver, with Lewis Hamilton fastest in the first, Max Verstappen in the second, and Fernando Alonso in the third.
It is close at the top! Sergio Perez put in another flying lap and that moved him third on the timesheet and 0.106s off Fernando Alonso, as the two Ferrari cars were making their way to the track on new sets of soft tyres. They came out on those fresh softs, but Ferrari still have some room for improvement if they want a front row start tomorrow. Charles Leclerc’s lap put him fifth and 0.284s off the pace, with Carlos Sainz in eighth and 0.605s off Fernando Alonso’s speed.
Chequered Flag and he did it again! Fernando Alonso continues to live up to the hype around him as he finishes top of the timesheet. Max Verstappen finished second, with his teammate Sergio Perez in third and it looks like we are going to have quite the battle for pole position later on! Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc make up the top five, which is split by less than three tenths of a second.
Here’s what the timesheet looks like ahead of this afternoon’s qualifying session…
Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) 1:32.340
Max Verstappen (Red Bull) +0.005
Sergio Perez (Red Bull) +0.106
Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) +0.215
Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +0.284
George Russell (Mercedes) +0.391
Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) +0.579
Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) +0.605
Oscar Piastri (McLaren) +0.705
Pierre Gasly (Alpine) +0.724
Esteban Ocon (Alpine) +0.776
Zhou Guanyu (Alfa Romeo) +0.840
Lando Norris (McLaren) +0.862
Kevin Magnussen (Haas) +1.041
Nico Hulkenberg (Haas) +1.083
Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri) +1.135
Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo) +1.289
Logan Sargeant (Williams) +1.325
Alex Albon (Williams) +1.542
Nyck De Vries (AlphaTauri) +1.742
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