(Motorsport-Total.com) – Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) secured the fastest time in the third free practice session for the 2024 Bahrain Grand Prix ahead of his Spanish compatriot Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin). Sainz was clocked in the qualifying simulations at the end of the session in 1:30.824 minutes, making him 0.141 seconds faster than Alonso. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) came third, 0.238 seconds behind.
© circuitpics.de
Carlos Sainz achieved the fastest time in the third free practice session for the Bahrain Grand Prix Zoom
At the beginning of the afternoon session, Alonso had complained about problems warming up the brakes. After his best time, he said he was very satisfied on the radio: “Another step better. I feel more connected to the car. That’s good.” And his race engineer assured him: “Don’t worry about the brakes. We’re working on it.”
After positions 6 (Verstappen) and 10 (Sergio Perez) on Friday, Red Bull seems to have turned up the engine in time for the first sportingly relevant decision of the new season, after Helmut Marko revealed on Thursday evening that the times in the first two training sessions were achieved with throttled Honda power.
There were 0.186 seconds between Verstappen in P3 and Sergio Perez in P8. Perez reported on the radio that the balance was “going in the right direction, but the tire is still miles away, especially in fast corners. Upshifting isn’t ideal either.” He later added: “Downshifting is also a horror. And the engine brake pushes into the slow corners.”
On the subject:
Result, 3rd free practice
Ticker: Paddock live with Ruben Zimmermann
Stream: Analysis live on YouTube (10:00 p.m.)
Positions 4 to 7 were occupied by Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), Lando Norris (McLaren), George Russell (Mercedes) and Oscar Piastri (McLaren). Piastri, in seventh place, was less than four tenths of a second behind the fastest time. At the end of the 60 minutes, 14 cars were within one second. Proof of how fiercely competitive Formula 1 will be in 2024.
Nico Hülkenberg (Haas), the only German in the starting field, reached ninth place on his last lap after a few “pink” (i.e. absolutely fastest) mini-sectors. He was 0.454 seconds away from the top; At the same time, he was 0.393 seconds faster than teammate Kevin Magnussen in 14th place.
What is important when evaluating the result is that the final training is probably only partially representative with regard to qualifying. Because the training took place in daylight and the asphalt temperature was over 30 degrees. When the sun sets in the evening and qualifying takes place under floodlights, the conditions at the Bahrain International Circuit could be completely different.
This may also put into perspective the twelfth place of Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes/+0.628), who achieved the best time on Thursday. However, the impression has become more solid that Alpine will be fighting at the back of the field in 2024. Esteban Ocon was 18th on Friday afternoon, Pierre Gasly 20th and last.
Where can I watch qualifying and races live?
Attention, Formula 1 fans: The season opener in Bahrain will not take place on Sunday as usual, but on Saturday (March 2nd). The race starts at 4:00 p.m. and Kevin Scheuren and Kevin Hermann will report on the Formula1.de YouTube channel live from 3:30 p.m. The live commentary by the two can, for example, be used as an alternative soundtrack to the TV picture.
A detailed analysis of qualifying Friday will take place on Friday evening at 10:00 p.m. on the Formula1.de YouTube channel took place, hosted by Kevin Scheuren and editor-in-chief Christian Nimmervoll.
If you want to watch qualifying and the race (as well as all other sessions of the weekend) live on TV, you should write it down in your notebook on Friday at 5:00 p.m. (start of qualifying) and Saturday at 4:00 p.m. (start of race). In Germany, both Sky and RTL will broadcast the season opener live. (Click here for the TV overview for the Bahrain Grand Prix!)