Carlos Sainz fastest in Bahrain ahead of the first qualification

In the final free practice session of the Bahrain Grand Prix weekend, Carlos Sainz emerged as the fastest driver, leading the way ahead of Fernando Alonso and Max Verstappen.

As the session began at 15:30 local time, many drivers chose to wait in their garages before hitting the track for the final hour of running ahead of Friday’s qualifying. Lewis Hamilton, who topped the timesheets in Thursday’s second practice, was the first to venture out onto the Bahrain International Circuit, opting for the soft tire on his W15 in warm and gusty conditions.

Other drivers joined in, with most also choosing the soft compound. Interestingly, the Red Bull duo of Verstappen and Sergio Perez were the only ones to use the hard tires.

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Alonso initially led the way with a lap time of 1m 31.582s, but as drivers embarked on their second runs with new soft tires, lap times started to drop. Ultimately, it was Sainz, a fellow Spaniard, who finished the session on top with a time of 1m 30.824s, one-tenth ahead of Alonso in second.