Oscar Piastri laid down a 1:31.646 to finish third practice over eight-tenths up on the nearest non-McLaren driver at the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Leading home a McLaren 1-2, the championship leaders head into qualifying as the team to beat.

Oscar Piastri leads McLaren 1-2 in FP3

A wall of heat greeted the drivers as they climbed into the cars for final practice for the Bahrain Grand Prix, the air temperature 34°C and the track a boiling hot 46°C, many of the drivers looking to bounce back from Friday’s troubles.

With rear tyre overheating dominating Friday’s action, Pirelli announced overnight they’d reduced the rear tyre pressure by 1psi.

But the big question was, could anyone close the gap on the rampant McLaren team?

With leaves littering the pit entrance – apparently there are 120 palm trees around the circuit, a strong tail wind blow, and the track temperature a good 10°C hotter than is forecast for qualifying, FP3 began in muted fashion.

F1 2025 head-to-head stats

👉 F1 2025: Head-to-head qualifying statistics between team-mates

👉 F1 2025: Head-to-head race statistics between team-mates

Only three drivers posted times in the opening 15 minutes, Lewis Hamilton’s 1:34.8 putting him a second up on Esteban Ocon.

As McLaren and Max Verstappen the action, Lando Norris went quickest with a 1:33.7, Verstappen aborted his lap after a moment, and Oscar Piastri took over at the top by half a second. Norris, though, did have a moment at Turn 1 on his lap.

Isack Hadjar, Kimi Antonelli, Liam Lawson and George Russell were all still in the pits 25 minutes into the hour-long session. Verstappen joined them as he headed back into the pits for a setup change.

The VSC was out mid-season as Nico Hulkenberg stopped on the side of the track with his car struck in third gear. “The car went into anti-stall all by itself,” he reported to Sauber. “Doesn’t look like we can get going again, Nico,” was the response before the German was pushed to safety by the marshals.

Back underway with Piastri P1 with a 1:33.3, Verstappen finally made his mark as he split the McLarens in second place, 0.2s down, while George Russell was P12 on his first flying lap. And so, with 25 minutes left on the clock, all 20 drivers finally posted lap times.

Charles Leclerc, meanwhile, lost a mirror that came flying off his Ferrari. The necessitated a visit to the pits for a new mirror assembly to be attached. Russell also had issues as he completed a full 360′ through Turn 10. “Least amount of grip I’ve ever had in an F1 car,” was his complaint.

The track temperature was down to 40’C for the final 15 minutes, championship leaders Norris and Verstappen both out on brand new soft tyres for qualy sims. Verstappen laid down a 1:33.0 to go quickest, but Piastri put in an incredible first sector to post a 1:31.6.

As his rivals laid down their soft tyres runs, Pierre Gasly told Alpine he “can’t believe” how much faster the McLarens were.

The session ended with Piastri P1 by 0.668s ahead of Norris, Leclerc was third by over eight-tenths down on the Australian driver.

Bahrain GP FP3 Lap Times

1 Oscar Piastri McLaren 1:31.646
2 Lando Norris McLaren +0.668
3 Charles Leclerc Ferrari +0.834
4 George Russell Mercedes +1.181
5 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes +1.270
6 Pierre Gasly Alpine +1.328
7 Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls +1.377
8 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing +1.381
9 Carlos Sainz Williams +1.446
10 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari +1.465
11 Esteban Ocon aas F1 Team +1.594
12 Jack Doohan Alpine +1.701
13 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls +1.724
14 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin +1.902
15 Alexander Albon Williams +2.208
16 Oliver Bearman Haas F1 Team +2.689
17 Lance Stroll Aston Martin +2.717
18 Gabriel Bortoleto Sauber +2.872
19 Nico Hulkenberg Sauber +2.990
20 Yuki Tsunoda Red Bull Racing +3.319

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