Oscar Piastri delivered a commanding performance in the final practice session for the 2025 FIA Formula 1 Bahrain Grand Prix, held in the late afternoon heat of Sakhir. The McLaren driver set a blistering pace, topping the timesheets with a lap time of 1:31.646. His performance left teammate Lando Norris a substantial 0.668 seconds adrift in second place. Charles Leclerc, driving for Ferrari, managed to secure third position, finishing 0.834 seconds behind the leading McLaren.
Despite a slight drop in temperature from the earlier, more extreme heat of the day, the bright sunshine and a track temperature of 31˚C still presented conditions that were not entirely representative of those expected for the evening qualifying session. Consequently, the session began cautiously, with only Haas’ Ollie Bearman and Alpine’s Esteban Ocon venturing onto the track in the initial stages.
They were soon joined by Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton, who, after a slow exploratory lap through the pit lane, took the early lead on used Soft compound tyres with a time of 1:34.846. However, this initial benchmark was still almost five seconds slower than the impressive pace set by McLaren’s Oscar Piastri during Friday evening’s second practice session.
Hamilton’s time at the top was short-lived, as he was quickly surpassed by Alpine’s Pierre Gasly and Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso. The McLaren duo of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri then emerged on track, both running on the Soft compound tyres. Piastri immediately set the fastest lap of the session at that point, clocking a 1:33.324, which put him a significant 0.472 seconds ahead of his teammate Norris, who slotted into second place as the session approached its halfway mark.
With 29 minutes remaining on the clock, the session was briefly interrupted by a Virtual Safety Car (VSC) period. This was triggered when Nico Hülkenberg was forced to pull his Sauber off the track in the run-off area at Turn 8. The German driver quickly communicated to his team that his car had entered anti-stall mode and subsequently shut down. As marshals began the process of recovering Hülkenberg’s stricken Sauber, the on-track activity slowed considerably.
Once the track was declared green again, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen was quick to resume his running. The winner of the previous Japanese Grand Prix had experienced a difficult moment on his initial lap of the session, describing it as “terrible” before returning to the garage. However, after the VSC period, Verstappen rejoined the track on Soft tyres and immediately jumped to second place with a lap of 1:33.558, placing him 0.234 seconds behind Piastri. Elsewhere on the circuit, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who was running in fifth position at the time, lost a mirror and was compelled to return to the pits just ahead of the crucial qualifying simulation runs.
Williams’ Alex Albon was the first driver to bolt on a set of fresh Soft tyres and immediately capitalized on the grip advantage, climbing to fourth position with a lap of 1:33.854. Verstappen was the next driver to complete a flying lap, and he briefly took the top spot with a time of 1:33.027. However, his tenure at the head of the timesheets was short-lived. First, Alpine’s Pierre Gasly went faster by a mere five-hundredths of a second, and then Piastri unleashed his blistering lap, going a massive 1.328 seconds clear of the French driver.
Mercedes’s Kimi Antonelli and George Russell managed to close the gap slightly to the leading Australian, although they still remained over a second adrift. It was only Piastri’s teammate, Lando Norris, who appeared capable of challenging him. However, after aborting his initial attempt at a quick lap, Norris’s second flying lap left the championship leader a significant 0.668 seconds behind Piastri’s leading time.
In the final moments of the session, Leclerc, with a replacement mirror now fitted to his Ferrari, put in a strong flying lap. His time was three-tenths of a second quicker than Russell, allowing him to snatch third place. This relegated Antonelli to fifth, ahead of Gasly in sixth. Racing Bulls’ rookie Isack Hadjar managed to impress, sneaking ahead of Verstappen to take seventh place. Carlos Sainz finished ninth for Williams, and the top ten order was rounded out by Hamilton.
Summary:
- Oscar Piastri (McLaren) topped the final practice session.
- Lando Norris (McLaren) finished second, 0.668s behind Piastri.
- Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) secured third place, 0.834s off the pace.
- George Russell (Mercedes) finished fourth.
- Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) was fifth.
- Pierre Gasly (Alpine) ended the session in sixth.
- Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls) took an impressive seventh place.
- Max Verstappen (Red Bull) finished eighth.
- Carlos Sainz (Williams) was ninth.
- Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) completed the top ten.
Disclaimer: Practice session results are preliminary and do not guarantee performance in qualifying or the race. Track conditions and car setups can significantly influence lap times.
Source: FIA
AI Assistance: Gemini