Charles Leclerc has taken the top spot in the timesheets as Formula 1's pre-season test from Bahrain heads towards the final chequered flag. The day's schedule was rejigged after a lengthy delay was caused , once again, by a loose drain cover. The midday break was abandoned with F1 opting to conduct running right through to the end of the day. Leclerc's best lap time of 1:30.322 was set on the C4 tyres but is just under half a second down on the best time seen at testing so far, which was clocked by teammate Carlos Sainz on Thursday.
Max Verstappen was second fastest for Red Bull while the Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso was third. Alonso flirted on several occasions with an improvement as he set a fastest first sector before his lap time tapered off around the track. Oscar Piastri was fourth while Sainz's effort from the morning session kept him in fifth place, narrowly edging out Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg in sixth and seventh respectively. Seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton, whose testing preparations have concluded, was eighth. Lance Stroll and Lando Norris, who both drove the morning session before handing over to their teammates, rounded out the top 10.
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