Antonelli lays down a marker as Mercedes and McLaren raise the bar in Bahrain

The Italian driver wrapped up the day with a 1:32.803 on C3 tyres in the final hour of running, edging the Australian by just 58 thousandths on the same compound.

Antonelli and Piastri were the only two drivers to dip below the 1:33 barrier, while Verstappen finished third with a 1:33.162.

Lewis Hamilton ended the day fourth with a 1:33.408, while Norris slipped to fifth after setting a 1:33.453 in the morning session. The Brit managed to return to the track after his morning issues and completed several qualifying-style runs in the afternoon, but two mistakes on separate laps prevented him from closing in on the frontrunners.

A solid day as well from Franco Colapinto, albeit on the softer compound, as he finished sixth just behind Hamilton and one second off leader Antonelli.

It was also a positive day for Audi, with Nico Hulkenberg finishing seventh, ahead of Russell’s W17, although the Briton had set his time during the morning session.

Ocon ended up ninth, with Haas looking solid in both qualifying and race simulations, while Liam Lawson rounded out the top 10.