Charles Leclerc led the final day of 2024 F1 testing in Bahrain as the Ferrari driver narrowly edged out Mercedes' George Russell but ended the day slightly behind on the final lap. .
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Charles Leclerc takes the lead on the third day of F1 testing as pre-season draws to a close
After Sergio Perez ran over a drain cover while driving into Turn 11, a second loose drain cover came off days later, resulting in an early stop and his scheduled lunch break for the day was cancelled.
This resulted in straight running until 7pm local time, with Carlos Sainz topping the timesheets midway through the day, while all other drivers except Williams gave drivers half a day of practice on Friday. , resulting in a large number of substitutions across the grid.
With Red Bull's driver change, it didn't take long for Max Verstappen to quickly rise to the top of the leaderboard during the early stages of the Bahrain lap, setting the pace for the early part of the afternoon with a time of 1:31.058. I quickly slowed down. It went up to 1:30.763.
As the afternoon progressed, all ten teams were looking to make the most of their remaining time. Driving conditions throughout the evening were such that drivers could achieve faster lap times if they so desired.
The question of whether to make a 'glorious run' with low fuel and new tires is a natural question for drivers later in the day, and they hope to leave a mark on their rivals and try their hand at it before next weekend's season opener. This is probably to find out if anyone wants to show it.
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Charles Leclerc set his fastest time on Ferrari C5 tyres, but still had many laps to complete after driving for most of the night.
It wasn't until 20 minutes remained that other competitors began to challenge Leclerc's 1:30.322, with George Russell closing within 0.046 seconds of the Ferrari driver on C4 tyres.
Chou Guanyu set the third fastest time, until the virtual safety car was deployed with 15 minutes remaining, a red flag immediately came out for the FIA to test the process, and the stakes F1 driver attempted an apparent qualifying simulation on the final lap.
Verstappen was fourth, with Hiroki Tsunoda and Alex Albon in the top six on the timesheets, but the real show of each team's speed will come next weekend.
This concludes pre-season testing in Bahrain, with F1 set to return to the same circuit in the coming days for the first race of the season.
F1 Test 2024: Day 3 Leaderboard
1 Charles LECLERC Ferrari 1:30.322 74 laps
2 George Russell Mercedes +0.046 67 laps
3 Zhou Guanyu Kick Sauber +0.325 85 laps
4 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing +0.433 66 laps
5 Hiroki Tsunoda RB +0.453 53 laps
6 Alexander Albon Williams +0.662 121 laps
7 Oscar Piastri McLaren +0.708 91 laps
8 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin +0.837 75 laps
9 Carlos Sainz Ferrari +0.925 71 laps
10 Sergio Perez Red Bull Racing +1.161 53 laps
11 Nico Hulkenberg Haas F1 Team +1.364 89 laps
12 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes +1.677 49 laps
13 Lance Stroll Aston Martin +1.716 46 laps
14 Lando Norris McLaren +1.786 20 laps
15 Pierre Gasly Alpine +1.827 47 laps
16 Kevin Magnussen Haas F1 Team +2.731 80 laps
17 Esteban OCON Alpine +2.757 55 laps
18 Valtteri Bottas Kick Sauber +3.206 28 laps
19 Daniel Ricciardo RB +6.693 70 laps
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