Ferrari finished Bahrain Grand Prix FP3 at Sepang with Charles Leclerc in fifth place, 0.714 seconds behind Kimi Antonelli, and Lewis Hamilton sixth, 0.739 seconds off the benchmark. After Charles Leclerc had topped Friday’s second practice session, the final hour before qualifying delivered a much more difficult picture for the Maranello team and raised doubts over whether the SF-26 has enough outright pace to challenge for pole position.
Ferrari had ended Friday on top thanks to Charles Leclerc, but the result was always difficult to interpret because of the unusual and rapidly changing conditions at Sepang. Track evolution has been significant throughout the weekend, making adaptability especially important as teams search for the best possible performance. Ferrari had already made substantial progress with the SF-26 during Friday’s FP2 setup work, but FP3 represented the final opportunity to understand the car before the starting grid is decided in qualifying.
Ferrari Bahrain GP FP3 begins with Hard-tyre race work
Charles Leclerc waited around 12 minutes before heading onto the circuit, beginning his programme on the Hard compound for the first time during the weekend. Ferrari appeared interested in evaluating the consistency of the tyre after the excessive degradation seen during the second practice session, an issue that has already made tyre behaviour at Sepang one of the most important variables for the team.
Charles Leclerc completed his first representative lap in 1:37.772, which remained his best time during the opening phase of the session. On his following lap, the Monegasque was unable to improve and finished around two tenths slower than his previous effort. In the meantime, Charles Leclerc slipped to third as Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri moved into first and second respectively while using the Medium compound. The Ferrari driver then returned to the pits.
Around the halfway point of FP3, Ferrari resumed its programme with the two cars on different plans. Lewis Hamilton was sent out on a fresh set of Soft tyres, while Charles Leclerc returned to the same Hard tyres he had used earlier to complete a race-pace simulation. Lewis Hamilton’s first flying attempt was compromised in the second sector when he encountered the Racing Bulls of Arvid Lindblad and lost time in traffic.
Lewis Hamilton struggles to extract performance from the Soft tyres
Lewis Hamilton improved on his second flying attempt and moved into ninth place, although he remained around 1.2 seconds behind Kimi Antonelli’s benchmark. The lap offered limited indication of Ferrari’s ultimate qualifying performance because the Soft tyre had already lost a significant amount of performance by the second attempt.
Charles Leclerc’s long run, meanwhile, developed positively in its opening phase. His lap times remained consistent before Ferrari brought the number 16 SF-26 back into the pits after approximately five race-simulation laps. Lewis Hamilton then began a short long-run programme of his own using the same Soft tyres he had already run during his qualifying attempts.
Ferrari therefore devoted a considerable amount of FP3 to race preparation and followed a noticeably different programme from several of its direct rivals. Lewis Hamilton completed only two laps of race-pace simulation before also returning to the garage. The different short-run and long-run programmes from the session can be examined further through the ScuderiaFans F1 Practice & Long-Run Analysis.
Ferrari’s pole position chances take a hit at Sepang
With ten minutes remaining, Charles Leclerc finally returned to the circuit on a fresh set of Soft tyres for his qualifying simulation. Lewis Hamilton followed a few seconds later, also equipped with new Softs.
Once the flying laps were completed, Charles Leclerc was fifth and Lewis Hamilton sixth, with both Ferraris around seven tenths away from Kimi Antonelli’s fastest time. Charles Leclerc’s exact deficit was 0.714 seconds, while Lewis Hamilton finished 0.739 seconds behind the session leader.
On the evidence of FP3, that margin appears too large for Ferrari to consider itself a clear contender for pole position. The final practice picture instead suggested the Scuderia could find itself fighting to be the third- or fourth-fastest team in qualifying. Mercedes appeared to have rediscovered its strongest level and emerged from FP3 as the reference, while Red Bull again showed competitive form on this type of circuit.
McLaren remains more difficult to evaluate, particularly because its full potential often becomes clearer during the decisive stages of qualifying. If the competitive order seen in FP3 carries over into the afternoon session, Ferrari could therefore find the second or third row a more realistic target than pole position.
There is still one important unknown. Ferrari may not have shown everything available from the SF-26 during its final practice programme, meaning the true picture will only become clear once qualifying begins. After Charles Leclerc’s encouraging Friday performance, FP3 has nevertheless made Ferrari’s task considerably more challenging. The remaining weekend timings and event information are available in the 2026 Bahrain Grand Prix at Sepang schedule and circuit guide.
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