F1 Bahrain GP Live Commentary and Updates - FP3 & Qualifying
Friday's action from the first round of the 2024 Formula 1 season.
Lewis Hamilton led a surprise Mercedes 1-2 at the end of practice on the opening day of track action, but many expect Red Bull to surge back to the front come qualifying.
FP3 begins at 12:30pm GMT (3:30pm local time) with qualifying at 4pm GMT (7pm local time).
Live Standings
presented by
Stopped
Summary
Summary
Red Bull's Max Verstappen took pole for F1 2024's opening race with a two-tenth margin on Charles Leclerc; George Russell, Carlos Sainz and Sergio Perez rounded out the top five in Q3.
After pacing FP3, Sainz was fastest again in Q1 where both Saubers, both Alpines and Logan Sargeant's Williams were eliminated.
Leclerc set the quickest lap of the entire session in Q2, with Yuki Tsunoda missing the top 10 by 0.007s; Lance Stroll, Alexander Albon, Daniel Ricciardo and Kevin Magnussen also missed out on Q3.
Great to hear - but before that you'll have to wait a little longer as there is the small matter of final practice to complete before qualifying which starts at 4pm GMT. I know, qualifying on a Friday feels odd, right? At least we've had the sprint race format to get used to this.
Before FP3 gets rolling, let's recap the biggest talking points so far. Most of the focus has been off the track, with the alleged Christian Horner messages leaked just a day after Red Bull’s investigation cleared him of wrongdoing. Horner said: "I won't comment on anonymous speculation, but to reiterate, I have always denied the allegations."
It is a saga that won't go away and has led to FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem and F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali being set to meet in Bahrain to discuss potential next steps over the Horner controversy. It certainly wasn’t the way the FIA or F1 wants to start the 2024 season.
With Red Bull keeping its engine powder dry, will the world champions give us a glimpse of its full potential in final practice? Probably not everything, but perhaps a glimpse to get its rivals worried before qualifying.
Yesterday was a chilly day by Bahrain standards, far warmer than back in Europe mind, but the sun is heating things up today as the mercury raises to just above 20C and track temperature up to 34.3C ahead of FP3. Obviously the temperatures will dip by the start of qualifying when the night draws in.
And, for now at least, the wind has died down which will also pose less of a problem to the drivers on the track. Ideal conditions for an afternoon run in the sunshine, really.
No surprise that it is a leisurely start to this session given track conditions are unrepresentative compared to quali and the race. Most of the drivers are in their garages but not busting a gut to get on track.
Hamilton has the freedom of the Bahrain circuit as he started a first timed lap. Top spot guaranteed, that's the mentality you need to be a seven-time world champion.
In truth, all the teams are right to stay in the garages for now. Any performance running will only take focus away from setting up the car in conditions that'll be more likely for quali and the race and burn through tyres without an obvious upside.
Verstappen is also out on the hard tyres. Every driver has just two set of hards for the weekend, so it is a huge clue to Red Bull's strategy for Saturday's race.
Russell puts his Mercedes on top with a 1m31.821s - half a second quicker than Stroll's earlier lap - but still around 1.5s off the outright pace seen yesterday.
Given their hard tyres compared to everyone else on softs, both Red Bulls are outside of the top 10 on the outright lap times. Verstappen is 11th with team-mate Perez in 12th.
Norris still isn't happy with the set-up of his McLaren as after his first run he is back in the garage and there is major work going on with his front suspension.
The FIA bulletins have notified that Norris is already on to his second control electronics and battery for the season. Given we are only two-and-a-half practice sessions into a 24-race season, that probably isn't a good sign. More on that when we get it.
Hamilton's Mercedes is undergoing a front brake adjustment in the garage, as most pause for breath in this session. Just Russell, Leclerc, Sainz, Magnussen and Piastri on the track.
A few more drivers are back on the track but nobody is looking to light up the timing screen just yet. Alonso's 1m31.582s remains the top time to beat.
Just like that, there is a Red Bull 1-2, which many believe will be a familiar sight this season. Elsewhere, Zhou improved to go sixth and Sargeant moved up to seventh.
