Bus causes bizarre red flag as Gasly leads F1 testing

Pierre Gasly sits atop the F1 timesheet at the midway point of the afternoon session from the Bahrain International Circuit.

Just two hours remain on the clock before the teams finish their preparations for the new season.

The session was put under a red flag early on when a lost bus found itself on a run-off area, posing an obvious danger.

However, the stoppage was only brief and the session resumed after just a couple of minutes.

George Russell was second fastest for Mercedes, with his best lap time placing him just 0.014 down on Gasly.

Max Verstappen was kept in the garage for some time as the Red Bull team carried out work on the car, limiting his afternoon mileage.

Despite his concerns, the four-time champion managed to bag the third-fastest lap.

The Ferrari duo of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc were fourth and fifth respectively, with the former taking over driving duties from his team-mate in the afternoon.

Oscar Piastri out-paced his team-mate Lando Norris after jumping into the car in the afternoon as the pair sat in sixth and eighth.

Rookie Kimi Antonelli, who took part in the morning session, was lodged between the Ferrari drivers.

Esteban Ocon was ninth fastest while Jack Doohan rounded out the top 10.