Bahrain GP Practice 3: Sebastian Vettel leads Ferrari one-two

Mercedes beaten into third and fourth as Scuderia discover pace

By Matthew Morlidge

Monday 4 April 2016 14:34, UK

Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen proved Ferrari could yet be a threat at the Bahrain GP by securing a one-two in Practice Three, ahead of Mercedes duo Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton.

The Scuderia were unable to compete with their rivals during Friday's sessions, but seemed to benefit from the higher track temparatures the following day as Vettel topped the timesheets with a 1:31:683 on the supersoft tyre.

Raikkonen was just four hundredths of a second behind his team-mate while Rosberg, who was denied a hat-trick of fastest times in practice in Bahrain, at least edged out Hamilton again to finish P3 in third.

After dominating proceedings in the cooler conditions, the fact Mercedes found themselves nearly half a second down on Ferrari on the same compound may be a concern ahead of qualifying later on Saturday.

When is the Bahrain GP on Sky?

The track temperature peaked at 36 degrees at the Bahrain International Circuit and Ferrari's pace looked encouraging throughout. On the soft compound, Rosberg and Hamilton set identical times before Raikkonen took control as his team-mate concentrated on longer stints. Vettel later proved his one-lap pace was something to be reckoned with.

Mercedes have history of struggling in the heat with last year's Singapore GP, a race in which Ferrari and Vettel dominated, offering similar conditions to what the drivers experienced on Saturday afternoon.

Paddy Lowe admitted the rising track temparature was the problem but was confident Mercedes' edge would return in the evening. Their quickest time in P3 was more than a second slower than Rosberg's fastest on Friday.

McLaren and Jenson Button shocked everyone by finding themselves in the top three in P2 on Friday, with the optimistic Brit stating the car felt "positive" in the desert. He couldn't carry on where he left off, however.

"The car sounds a little different," he reported over team radio early on in the session, before he was wheeled back into the McLaren garage. Stoffel Vandoorne, watched on by Fernando Alonso in the paddock, also had problems with an oil leak but was able to recover and finished only one place and 0.04s behind Button in 14th.

'Alonso should retire from F1'

The battle for maximum points again looks like it will be between Ferrari and Mercedes but Valtteri Bottas will have been happy to secure fifth in the Williams, albeit 0.5s behind Hamilton.

Haas, after their excellent debut in Australia, seem to be placed firmly in the chasing midfield pack and impressed once again in P3. Romain Grosjean finished the session in sixth with team-mate Esteban Gutierrez two places, and 0.25s, behind him.

Renault's frustrating start to the weekend continued. While Kevin Magnussen, who will start in the pitlane after failing to stop for a weight check on Friday, finished 12th, Jolyon Palmer was only faster than the Manors in 20th and suffered a puncture at the end of the session.

Practice Three timesheet

1. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari, 1:31.683

2. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari, 1:31.723

3. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes, 1:32.104

4. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 1:32.160

5. Valtteri Bottas, Williams, 1:32.675

6. Romain Grosjean, Haas, 1:33.082

7. Daniil Kvyat, Red Bull, 1:33.113

8. Esteban Gutierrez, Haas, 1:33.337

9. Felipe Massa, Williams, 1:33.363

10. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull, 1:33.519

11. Marcus Ericsson, Sauber, 1:33.569