Leclerc fastest for Ferrari on the last day of 2024 Bahrain F1 test

Charles Leclerc set the fastest lap on the third and final day of pre-season testing at the wheel of a Ferrari SF-24 using C4 Pirelli tyres while George Russell set the second fastest lap for Mercedes in the final hour.

Sainz was the fastest in the first part of the last day, which, like yesterday, was interrupted due to a detached drain cover, which prompted the organizers to fix all the covers on the track ahead of the first race weekend of the season.

The interruption due to the drain cover occurred already after the first half hour due to a problem on the same part of the track as yesterday, on the approach to the Turn 11, and after more than an hour the test continued even though the usual lunch break was canceled.

Leclerc took over the SF-24 from Sainz in the afternoon and after the opening stint on the C3 tyres set the best time on the C4 tyres that will be used for the first time in the second race in Saudi Arabia.

The Ferrari driver set a lap of 1:30.322, four tenths slower than Sainz’s fastest lap on the second day (1:29.921), while Russell set the best lap for Mercedes on C4 tyres later in the day, 0.046 seconds slower than Leclerc.

Shortly after Russell, the fastest lap for Sauber was driven by Zhou on the C4 tyres, 0.325 seconds behind Leclerc, which was enough for him to finish third on the final day.

Verstappen took over the Red Bull RB20 from Perez in the afternoon and quickly took the lead on C3 tyres with a lap of 1:31.058, which he later improved to 1:30.763 and 1:30.755 to finish fourth.

Tsunoda was 0.02 off Verstappen in fifth place for RB, with Albon finishing sixth in the Williams FW46 he drove all day with 121 laps under his belt.

Norris had clutch problems in the morning, completing only 20 laps, but Piastri was able to complete his afternoon program as normal with as many as 91 laps en route to the sixth fastest time on the C3 tyres.

Alonso was eighth for Aston Martin ahead of compatriot Sainz in Ferrari while Perez was tenth for Red Bull after going over a loose drain cover this morning, but without major damage to the car.

The slowest was Ricciardo in RB who spent most of the time on the hardest C1 tyre compound and handed over the car to teammate Tsunoda in the afternoon, and only Sargeant did not drive on the last day of testing.

DAY 3 RESULTS