Antonelli leads Bahrain GP final practice as Mercedes find their pace
Kimi Antonelli put Mercedes on top in the final practice session for the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, leading Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar as the hour ended. His 1m 36.302s lap left him 0.278 seconds clear of Verstappen and offered a markedly stronger Saturday start after Mercedes described Friday as one of the team’s “toughest” of the season.
The session formed part of an unusual Bahrain Grand Prix weekend in Malaysia, a setting explored in this look at the event’s relocation.
McLaren set the early benchmark
The opening phase was quiet after the 12:30 local start, with Cadillac’s Sergio Perez first on track. As more cars joined the action in hot, humid conditions, Charles Leclerc set the initial benchmark on hard tyres with a 1m 37.772s lap.
McLaren’s Lando Norris quickly moved ahead on mediums, going six tenths quicker than Leclerc. Team-mate Oscar Piastri followed in second, three tenths behind Norris. The session was then interrupted shortly before halfway by a red flag after debris from Ollie Bearman’s Haas was left on the circuit.
Several leading drivers had yet to appear before the stoppage, including Antonelli, George Russell, Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton. Once the track reopened, Antonelli set the pace on soft tyres with a 1m 36.924s. Verstappen’s fastest first sector suggested potential, but he finished that run fourth after appearing to encounter traffic. Hamilton was also seen gesturing after catching Arvid Lindblad’s slower Racing Bulls.
Late laps reshuffle the order
Norris and Piastri switched to soft tyres with 15 minutes remaining, but neither improved their position: Norris stayed third and Piastri fifth. Leclerc later split the Mercedes pair in second before the final flurry of laps changed the order again.
Antonelli improved to 1m 36.302s, while Verstappen and Hadjar moved into second and third. Russell finished fourth, six tenths behind his team-mate. Leclerc and Hamilton completed the top six, ahead of Norris and Piastri in seventh and eighth.
Franco Colapinto and Lindblad rounded out the top 10. Gabriel Bortoleto was 11th, followed by Fernando Alonso, Pierre Gasly, Esteban Ocon, Liam Lawson and Nico Hulkenberg. Bearman placed 17th, with Carlos Sainz, Lance Stroll, Alex Albon, Valtteri Bottas and Perez completing the order.
With practice complete, attention turns to qualifying, scheduled to begin at 16:00 local time.
Simone Scanu
He’s a software engineer with a deep passion for Formula 1 and motorsport. He co-founded Formula Live Pulse to make live telemetry and race insights accessible, visual, and easy to follow.