Ferrari endured a difficult Bahrain Grand Prix FP3 at Sepang as the SF-26 finished around seven tenths away from the benchmark during its decisive qualifying simulations. Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton were separated by only 0.025 seconds, but the more significant concern for the Maranello team was its inability to extract the same level of grip as its leading rivals ahead of qualifying.
This was an important session at the 16th round of the Formula 1 season, with Ferrari needing to take a definitive step towards the front after an encouraging Friday. The objective became particularly significant because several of the other leading teams had concentrated more heavily on studying the Medium compound over a single lap, rather than pursuing outright lap time at all costs with the additional grip offered by the Soft tyre.
Ferrari finds an imperfect SF-26 in Bahrain GP FP3
Ferrari waited 13 minutes before sending a car onto the Sepang circuit. The aerodynamic configuration remained unchanged from Friday on both SF-26s, with the standard FTM exhaust layout, a three-element bargeboard and the blown Halo solution. This was the technical specification designed to provide the highest possible absolute downforce level.
Of the two Ferrari drivers, only Charles Leclerc took part in the opening run. The Monegasque went onto the Malaysian track to evaluate the final fine-tuning changes made to the set-up overnight. Ferrari had already gathered significant information on the behaviour of the available compounds on Friday, with tyre performance at Sepang remaining one of the key areas to understand.
Charles Leclerc’s number 16 car was fitted with Hard tyres, a useful compound for gathering balance data across a four-lap stint. After a ten-minute interruption caused by an incident, the session resumed and Lewis Hamilton joined the action on Soft tyres with a more aggressive power-unit mapping than Ferrari had used the previous day.
The Briton immediately encountered difficulties with track position and the braking system, while Charles Leclerc returned to the circuit on Hard tyres in high-fuel configuration.
Lewis Hamilton then carried out a qualifying-style lap with the familiar tendency towards oversteer. He was able to manage the behaviour reasonably well, although the SF-26 was still not operating at an optimal level. Charles Leclerc’s handling appeared cleaner, although his greater fuel load produced lower cornering speeds and consequently made the car easier to control. Two laps later, the Monegasque returned to the pits.
Ferrari looks balanced but lacks outright speed
At that stage, it remained difficult to draw firm conclusions from the session, although one factor was becoming increasingly apparent: Charles Leclerc appeared more comfortable interpreting the behaviour of the Ferrari.
After completing his qualifying-style attempt, Lewis Hamilton continued for another three laps without backing off, indicating that his car was carrying a greater fuel load. He then followed his team-mate back into the garage as Ferrari prepared for the most representative phase of FP3.
With 15 minutes remaining, the time came to reduce the fuel loads, increase the internal-combustion engine and hybrid power settings and push the SF-26 towards its maximum performance. The aim was to understand how the car behaved in a genuine qualifying simulation. The different programmes and long-run trends from practice can also be explored through the ScuderiaFans F1 Practice & Long-Run Analysis.
Conditions had also changed compared with Friday. Temperatures remained high, but stronger winds and the complete absence of sunshine created a different environment for the cars and tyres.
Charles Leclerc produced a relatively clean lap and handled the demanding lines through the second sector without any major difficulty. The only visible imperfection was a very slight overshoot at the final corner. Lewis Hamilton’s lap also showed generally neutral steering behaviour, although he too braked slightly late into the final corner. Turn 14 was another area requiring improvement, with the seven-time world champion losing around one tenth there.
Ferrari loses seven tenths in the qualifying simulation
The problem was the stopwatch. The two Ferrari drivers were separated by just 0.025 seconds, yet both were around seven tenths away from the fastest time. Something was not working as expected, because Ferrari’s rivals were able to extract more grip during this phase while the two SF-26s could not achieve the same result.
After two cool-down laps, both cars prepared for one final attempt, but the competitive picture remained essentially unchanged.
The sector analysis highlighted the second sector as Ferrari’s weakest area. Sepang is undoubtedly a demanding circuit, but compared with Friday, and in line with expectations from the earlier technical analysis, the opposition had begun to reveal more of its performance and the two Ferraris had dropped further back. The sector differences can be examined in greater detail through the F1 Qualifying Pace & Sector Comparison.
Ferrari must understand what is limiting the SF-26
The main task before qualifying is therefore to identify what is preventing the SF-26 from extracting its potential. The car’s operating window appeared narrower than it had on Friday, an increasingly clear factor during FP3.
The loading and unloading phases remained important, while examination of the tyre behaviour suggested that Ferrari was not using the compounds optimally during the third practice session. That lack of grip appeared particularly costly once the cars moved into their low-fuel qualifying configurations.
Ferrari now has roughly two and a half hours to bring the different elements together, understand the cause of the deficit and prepare the SF-26 as effectively as possible for qualifying. With Friday having offered considerably more encouraging signs, the final practice session has left the Maranello engineers with several questions to answer before the grid is decided. Full weekend timings and circuit information are available in the 2026 Bahrain Grand Prix at Sepang schedule and circuit guide.
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