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Formula 1 Bahrain GP

F1 Bahrain GP Live Commentary and Updates - FP3 and Qualifying

Lando Norris, McLaren MCL35M

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Yellow flag

Mazepin has spun again, this time at Turn 1, to bring out the yellow flags in that section which could hamper a few lap times.

Stopwatch

Super lap by Russell with a 1m31.316s to go P7. He is safely into Q2.

Every driver apart from the AlphaTauris and Verstappen are on the track but a couple, including Hamilton, are not on new tyres. Everyone else dicing for a top-15 place to make it into Q2.

Now, crunch time for those trying to make it into Q2. Currently Ocon, Latifi, Russell, Mazepin and Schumacher are in the drop zone.

TV replays catch Verstappen lose some carbonfibre after running over a kerb. He duly pits as expected, so his Red Bull mechanics will give his car a good look over for damage, with his place in Q2 effectively assured.

Stopwatch

Good evening Yuki Tsunoda, who splits Verstappen and Hamilton to take second place with a 1m30.607s. Very impressive.

Stopwatch

But here come the rest of the times, as Hamilton goes top with a 1m30.617s. It doesn't last long as Verstappen puts in a 1m30.499s.

Stopwatch
...out of the initial lap times, Sainz goes top for Ferrari with a 1m31.653s ahead of team-mate Leclerc.

The timing screen is lighting up green and purple now, so lap times are incoming...

That early showing has woken up the rest of the teams, who all stampede out of the pits together. Maybe they are worried about seeing the initials MSC at the top of the times again.

Yellow flag

Russell pits before finishing his first timed lap, as does team-mate Latifi, but trouble for Mazepin as he spins at Turn 13. So Schumacher provides the first timed effort to go top with a 1m33.816s. Mick, get that framed.

Both Williams and Haas drivers head out first to get an early lap in, which isn't so surprising going on practice pace. Russell leads that train from Latifi, with rookie pair Mazepin and Schumacher following behind.

Green flag

Here we go, the first F1 qualifying of 2021 is underway!

The circuit timing data states the wind is blowing towards the drivers going up to Turn 1 and given how much havoc it created in practice, catching or missing the gusts could be vital.

Sun

Weather report: Clear and dry conditions, with a minimal chance of sandstorms or other such-like Bahrain meteorological concerns. Track temperature is 35.4oC but expect that to dip as the sun sets on the circuit.

For the time being nobody is taking any grid penalties into qualifying, which is perhaps not so surprising given it is the first race of the year, but it does mean literally everything is up for grabs. Who is your money on?

Practice might have been trimmed this year - with each session running for only one hour - but the qualifying format remains familiar with the traditional Q1, Q2 and Q3 knockout system.

Hello once again! Right we've seen plenty of laps and heard plenty of chat across testing and this weekend's practice, but shall we see what it actually all means? It is nearly time for qualifying for the first time in 2021!

That's all from us for the time being - make sure to join us later on as we build up to what promises to be a thrilling qualifying session. See you then.
In case you missed any of the action in a session that took a while to warm up before reaching a fascinating crescendo, here's the full report from ALEX KALINAUCKAS: https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/verstappen-completes-f1-practice-clean-sweep-at-bahrain-gp/5937097/
Even disregarding the battle for pole, with eight different constructors in the top 10, qualifying is shaping up to be a thriller. Remember, it all kicks off later today at 3pm GMT.
 
There's certainly a theme to the weekend beginning to emerge isn't there? Verstappen has been fastest in all three sessions, and Mercedes - or Bottas at least, judging by his several lap deletions for track limits - don't appear happy. Could it really be this straightforward for qualifying though? Does Mercedes have a magic bullet to deploy?
Here's a man who knows something or two about winners...
 
Notable too, perhaps, that once again it was Sainz leading the way at Ferrari? How will that early Turn 3 spin on the hard tyres have affected Leclerc's psyche prior to qualifying?
It was interesting that Sainz set his best time on the medium rubber. He's 1.5s shy of Verstappen, but Pirelli's Mario Isola reckoned that the soft was worth 0.9s per lap over the medium - so Ferrari may be a bit closer to the pace than we expected.
So what did we learn? Well, if the gap between Red Bull and Mercedes truly is 0.7s, then the Black Arrows are going to have a lot of work to do before qualifying. But, as we mentioned earlier, the hot temperatures of FP3 mean it's not an entirely representative demonstration of the conditions what we can expect later.
Nobody else is on course to improve, so here's your top 10 order from FP3:

1. Verstappen
2. Hamilton
3. Gasly
4. Bottas
5. Perez
6. Sainz
7. Raikkonen
8. Ocon
9. Stroll
10. Ricciardo
Tsunoda improves on his last lap, but it's promptly deleted for track limits. Regardless, it wouldn't have been enough to move up higher than his current P13, ten places below Gasly as it stands.
Checkered flag
Checkered flag is out, that's the end of FP3.
Our third-place man Gasly is out on soft tyres at the moment, but doesn't improve on his most recent lap which is half a second off his PB.
Just over two minutes left of the session - will we see any late improvers?
In the battle of the veterans, Vettel and Alonso are languishing in 14th and 15th places, just above the cut-off for Q3. But somehow, we feel Norris in P16 has a bit more pace in his pocket than he's showed today...
In the lower reaches of the top 10 there have been several improvers as well. Behind Sainz (still fifth on the medium), we've got Raikkonen, Ocon, Stroll and Ricciardo all on the softs. The midfield looks set to be deliciously juicy this year, doesn't it?
That's a power lap from Verstappen, who is 1.3s quicker than his new team-mate. Probably won't do Perez's confidence much good...
Now Verstappen delivers what we've been waiting for - on his first lap with the softs, he's a full 0.739s quicker than Hamilton with a 1m30.577s. Gauntlet. Laid.
Meanwhile, another Honda-powered car has taken second place and it's that man Gasly again. The AlphaTauri driver punches in a 1m31.583s, three tenths off Hamilton.
The final sector is basically the blast down to the final corner, and the pit straight - with only one corner, it's an interesting barometer of engine performance, although there's always the possibility that Hamilton had a messy exit from the final corner due to the aforementioned balance issues.

By: James Newbold, Megan White, Haydn Cobb

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