CLICK HERE TO UPDATE LIVE LIVE
9.33 More medium tires for Sergio Perez in this new sortie: the Mexican therefore does not work on the flying lap.
9.30 Leclerc used C4 rubber for his fast lap, therefore a difference compound with Russell’s C5: this shows Ferrari’s superiority over Mercedes.
9.27 LECLERC! 1: 31.164: he is first with 278 thousandths of a margin over Russell.
9.25 Leclerc returns to the track with new soft rubber: we will see if Russell’s time will be brought closer or even improved.
9.22 1:31.442 for Russell who further lowers the time with the new C5 tire and consolidates the first position.
9.20 DAY-3 TIMES UPDATE:
1 George RUSSELL Mercedes1:31.564 20
2 Charles LECLERC Ferrari+0.656 14
3 Pierre GASLY Alpine+1.198 17
4 Sergio PEREZ Red Bull Racing+1,603 21
5 Nico HULKENBERG Haas F1 Team+1.765 21
6 Philip Drugovich Aston Martin+2,0
7 Oscar PIASTRI McLaren+2.091 21
8 Valtteri BOTTAS Alfa Romeo+7.045 17
9 Nyck DE VRIES AlphaTauri+7.654 15
10 Alexander ALBON Williams+9.344 17
9.17 Gasly is still improving with C3 rubber, but the Frenchman remains third. Russell back on track for a new stint with the softs.
9.14 Russell’s is also the best time trial of these three days using the softer compound. Next week in qualifying Pirelli will not be bringing either C4 or C5 and these compounds will therefore not be usable.
9.11 Lima still something in his time Russell with C5 rubber: 1: 31.564 for the Englishman who is looking for lap performance.
9.09 Improvement also for the Brazilian Felipe Drugovich with Aston Martin: sixth position two seconds behind Russell.
9.06 1:32.220: Leclerc is second half a second from Russell with a mix of difference. Eraser C3 for Monegasque, eraser C4 for English.
9.03 Six laps with C3 rubber for Sergio Perez who is doing race simulation at this stage.
9.00 DAY-3 TIMES UPDATE:
1 George RUSSELL Mercedes1:31.707 15
2 Pierre GASLY Alpine+1.397 12
3 Sergio PEREZ Red Bull Racing+1,460 20
4 Nico HULKENBERG Haas F1 Team+1.622 13
5 Oscar PIASTRI McLaren+1,948 13
6 Charles LECLERC Ferrari+2.383 9
7 Philip DRUGOVICH Aston Martin+5,9
8 Valtteri BOTTAS Alfa Romeo+6.902 15
9 Nyck DE VRIES AlphaTauri+7.511 10
10 Alexander ALBON Williams+9.201 16
8.58 First time also recorded for Alexander Albon who is on the track with C4 soft rubber.
8.56 With C4 soft rubber, George Russell takes the lead: 1: 31.707 for the British Mercedes driver. Second place instead for Gasly with C3 at 1″397 from the first position.
8.54 Here is Oscar Piastri’s spin:
Oscar Piastri has a BIG spinning moment out on track! 😳
The Australian driver recovers quickly to continue on #F1 #F1Testing pic.twitter.com/KPU7PB4Fvo
— Formula 1 (@F1) February 25, 2023
8.51 Perez and Russell are now running without grids to try to work on the qualifying lap.
8.48 Perez raises himself and does the fastest lap: 1: 33.167 the time, 162 thousandths faster than Hulkenberg. Personal best time for the Mexican in these three days.
8.45 SPIN FOR OSCAR PLATES IN CURVE 10! The Australian rookie jumped and spun: luckily there was ample escape route and he was back on track immediately.
8.43 Leclerc is still improving with the C2 tire and is fourth, Nico Hulkenberg returns to the lead with a time of 1: 33.329: George Russell’s time improved by three tenths and a half.
8.40 DAY-3 TIMES UPDATE:
1 George RUSSELL Mercedes 1:33.685 12
2 Nico HULKENBERG Haas F1 Team+0.005 10
3 Charles LECLERC Ferrari+0.457 8
4 Pierre GASLY Alpine+0.644 7
5 Oscar PIASTRI McLaren+1.114 9
6 Philip DRUGOVICH Aston Martin+4,0
7 Valtteri BOTTAS Alfa Romeo+4.924 15
8 Sergio PEREZ Red Bull Racing+6,547 9
9 Nyck DE VRIES AlphaTauri+9.490 5
8.37 First timed time for Leclerc who is third at 457 thousandths from Russell: some jumping, a correction in curve 1, but the Monegasque did not start his test day badly.
8.35 Charles Leclerc returns to the track with a used C2 medium tire train.
8.32 Leclerc is still in the pits and got out of the car: the mechanics replaced the front wing after the first four laps.
8.29 1: 33.685: George Russell precedes Hulkenberg by just five thousandths and takes the lead with a decent lap.
8.26 Everyone on the track with medium tires except De Vries and Albon who ride with soft tires.
8.23 Some images for Nico Hulkenberg released by the Haas team:
In the car and ready for action! Nico begins our Saturday laps in Sakhir 🇩🇪#HaasF1 #F1Testing pic.twitter.com/2nkFDrIqra
— MoneyGram Haas F1 Team (@HaasF1Team) February 25, 2023
8.20 DAY-3 TIMES UPDATE:
1 Nico HULKENBERG Haas F1 Team 1:33.690 8
2 Oscar PIASTRI McLaren+1,999 4
3 George RUSSELL Mercedes+2.401 7
4 Philip Drugovich Aston Martin+4,0
5 Valtteri BOTTAS Alfa Romeo+5.016 5
6 Charles LECLERC Ferrari+5.881 4
7 Sergio PEREZ Red Bull Racing+6,542 7
8.18 Nico Hulkenberg takes the lead with a time of 1: 33.690: three-lap stint with medium tire with his Haas for the German. Perez is also back with the rakes.
8.15 The cars return to the track: end of the red flag regime, the fallen piece of Perez’s car has been removed.
8.13 So far the best time is by Oscar Piastri: 1: 35.689. The only time set by Leclerc is almost four seconds behind the Australian from McLaren.
8.10 Red Flag! A sensor fell off Sergio Perez’s car: some pieces need to be removed from the track. Cars that must therefore return to the pits.
8.08 Rastrelli on Sergio Perez’s car to collect as much data as possible in these tests and carry out the work in view of the start of the World Cup.
8.05 There is also Charles Leclerc who is immediately trying to record the first timed time. Together with him is inside George Russell with Mercedes.
8.03 Sergio Perez with Red Bull immediately on the track, but also Bottas (Alfa Romeo), Drugovich (Aston Martin), Piastri (McLaren), De Vries (AlphaTauri), Albon (Williams).
OFF TO THE THIRD DAY OF TEST!
7.57 The times of this third and final day will be like those of the previous days: morning session from 8 to 12.15 and afternoon session from 13.15 to 17.30.
7.55 Mercedes will still have to work hard to get closer to the top: George Russell said that at this point of the year the Brackley team is in better shape, but the difference compared to Ferrari and Red Bull is certainly large so far.
7.50 Max Verstappen will not be on the track today, who has already completed the program in the first two days. Only Sergio Perez will ride for Red Bull and he will try to show off
7.45 Even if Ferrari so far keeps more pace than Red Bull in the simulation of qualifying rather than the race pace. The Prancing Horse will probably concentrate above all on the flying lap on this last day, given the imminence of the start of the season: next Saturday it will already be time for the first qualifying of 2023 Formula 1 with the Sakhir GP.
7.40 A Ferrari certainly appeared to be growing on the second day, especially on the pace. He convinced Sainz more than Leclerc: the Monegasque still seems to have to find the right feeling with the new car, especially on the qualifying flying lap.
7.35 Change in the Ferrari house compared to the past few days: Charles Leclerc will open in the morning, while Carlos Sainz will be in the afternoon.
7.30 Hello and happy Saturday friends of OA Sport, welcome to the third and final day of the 2023 Formula 1 pre-World Championship tests in Bahrain, on the Sakhir circuit.
How to follow the third day of testing on TV/streaming – Day 1 report – Day 2 report
Good morning and welcome to LIVE LIVE from the last day of the pre-season tests of the 2023 F1 World Championship. On the track of Sakhirin Bahrainthe teams will be called upon to complete their program before meeting up for the start of the world championship on this very track.
The Ferrari he will be able to count on both riders on this day-3 as well. Contrary to the first two days, it will be the Monegasque Charles Leclerc open the program from 08.00. The boy from the Principality will have more than 4 hours at his disposal to better understand his Red before the 12.15 deadline. From 13.15 it will be the turn of the Spanish Carlos Sainz who will enter the cockpit of the SF-23 to conclude the program.
As seen so far, la Red Bull impressed and Ferrari managed to keep pace with the RB19 essentially in the qualifying simulation, because on the race pace the single-seater designed by the brilliant mind of Adrian Newey seems to play another sport, especially with the Dutchman Max Verstappen driving. The Dutchman will not be present on this final day, having already completed his programme. Space for Mexican Sergio Perez who will try to take advantage of the opportunity.
In home Mercedes many question marks. Probably in Brackley they would have hoped to be closer to the reference machines, but there is still a lot of work to do. We’ll see if the three-pointed star will be able to find speeds that have been noticed up to now.
OA Sport offers you the LIVE LIVE from the last day of the pre-season tests of the 2023 F1 World Championship: real-time news and constant updates. It starts at 08.00 and will run until 12.15 Italian. Following the lunch break and from 13.15 to 17.30 on the track. Good fun!
Photo: LaPresse