F1 LIVE | Follow qualifying for the Bahrain GP in Malaysia

Max Verstappen looked strong on Friday but it was Kimi Antonelli who led the way in the final practice session ahead of qualifying at Sepang.

Antonelli was nearly three tenths quicker than Verstappen, with George Russell almost six tenths down on his teammate in fourth, behind the second Red Bull of Isack Hadjar.

The telemetry in FP3 showed Antonelli recording the widest teammate margin on single-lap pace across the grid. Antonelli outpaced George Russell by a substantial 0.610 seconds on their respective best tours, indicating that the Italian rookie found a sweet spot with the balance that eluded his British teammate.

Scuderia Ferrari proved to be the most evenly matched pairing of the session. Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton were split by a negligible 0.025 seconds on their quickest laps, illustrating that both drivers managed to extract virtually identical peak performance from the car across the circuit.

At McLaren, Norris held a 0.205-second advantage over Piastri across a full lap, yet did so while registering 8.0 km/h slower through the main speed trap. This dynamic strongly points toward contrasting rear wing configurations, with Norris likely running higher aerodynamic downforce to prioritise cornering grip while Piastri ran leaner straight-line settings.

Stitching together the fastest sectors from across the field highlights how competitive the fight at the sharp end remains. The theoretical ultimate lap sits at a 1:36.139, exactly 0.163 seconds quicker than the session's overall fastest recorded lap of 1:36.302. Max Verstappen established the benchmark in Sector 1, Antonelli showcased his raw speed by claiming the fastest Sector 2, and Norris swept the final sector to prove McLaren's twisty-section prowess.