Leclerc sets pace on final morning of pre-season testing in Bahrain

Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc topped the timesheets as pre-season testing entered its closing stages on Friday, leading the way in the morning session around the Bahrain International Circuit.

After two chilly, windy and occasionally rainy days in the Sakhir desert, improved weather conditions saw drivers and teams hit a bone-dry track amid pleasant temperatures – aiding their data-gathering efforts.

LIVE COVERAGE: All the action from Day 3 of 2025 pre-season testing in Bahrain

Two drivers who had already completed their pre-season running, though, were new Williams and Red Bull signings Carlos Sainz and Liam Lawson, who ran through both of Thursday’s sessions before handing over to their team mates.

Meanwhile, there was an unscheduled driver change at Aston Martin, with Fernando Alonso running in the morning instead of the afternoon given that Lance Stroll was not feeling “100%” when he woke up.

Drama struck around an hour-and-a-half into the session when some bodywork flew off the Haas being driven by Ollie Bearman, prompting yellow flags while marshals removed pieces of engine cover from the trackside.

Haas played down the incident after Bearman’s crawl back to the pit lane and, following swift repairs, the British rookie managed to resume his programme and complete some final preparations for the Australian Grand Prix.

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Another stoppage came shortly before lunch, with debris sitting on the start/finish straight, while Mercedes youngster Kimi Antonelli and Kick Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto both spent phases in their garages with screens up outside.

Max Verstappen was another to bide his time while Red Bull mechanics carried out work at the rear of the RB21, after new team mate Lawson admitted there were some “teething gremlins” on his final test day.

As the chequered flag came out for lunch, it was Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc who held P1 with a best time of 1m 30.811s, followed closely by the aforementioned Antonelli, McLaren’s Lando Norris and reigning World Champion Verstappen.

Jack Doohan completed a solid morning’s work en route to fifth position, from the Williams of Alex Albon, the Racing Bulls machine of Isack Hadjar and Alonso, who will step aside for Stroll when the afternoon session begins.

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Part of Alonso’s management stable, Bortoleto completed the fewest laps after his spells in the garage and wound up ninth, while Bearman – with no other issues to report – rounded out the runners.

Teams will now break for a quick meal in the paddock and dig through the data ahead of the final pre-season session for 2025, which will run from 1500-1900 local time.