Sainz fastest during the first half of Day 3 as kerbs caused red flag

Carlos Sainz once again finished off a promising day for Ferrari, toping the timesheet with a 1:31.247. Sergio Perez was close the to Spaniard on the same compound, as he was only 0.2 seconds slower. Hamilton rounded off the Top 3.

Carlos Sainz quickly took control of the leading the standings on Day 3, after immediately setting the purple lap lap time, he maintained control over today’s leaderboard. His fastest time was completed on a set of C3 tyres, but almost two seconds slower than his best time yesterday. Generally speaking, it has been a positive day for the Spaniard, as not only he was the quickest, but he also seemed to complete above average lap times on longer runs, as Ferrari were eager to test their tyre degradation.

The driver replacing Sainz next season, Lewis Hamilton finished in third place. The Briton had an eventful morning session. He was the first driver this weekend to test the C5 tyres (fastest compound available), then once the session restarted, he nearly ran into the back of Sergio Perez in the technical section entering Sector 2. The Mercedes driver also competed with Kevin Magnussen on the track. He was not able to make his move into Turn 1, but in the second DRS zone, he overtook the Danish driver.

Another Red Flag in Bahrain

For the second time in a row, the kerbs came loose in Turn 10. This time, it was caused by Sergio Perez. This led to an hour and 30 minutes of delay, and as a result, teams were robbed of a lunch break. Red Bull were quick to check Perez’s floor, but he could continue without any trouble once the session restarted.

Visa Cash App RB driver Daniel Ricciardo finished last this morning, but this should not bother the fans of the Australian, as they were focusing on longer runs. McLaren on the other hand trouble with the car’s clutch, and Stake F1 also ran into problems, as there garage was covered for a longer time period.

Standings after three and a half hours