Max tops the board at third free practice in Sakhir
Published on 05 December 2020 by Mike Motilall
Max Verstappen was the quickest at the third and final free practice for the Sakhir Grand Prix. The Dutchman lapped the short Bahrain circuit 23 times and was with a 0:54.064 two tenths faster than Valtteri Bottas who came in second fastest. Pierre Gasly crossed the line in third.
Just after sunset the third and final free practice gets underway on the 3,543 meter long ‘Outer Track’ of the Bahrain International Circuit. At Haas Pietro Fittipaldi replaces the injured Romain Grosjean. He is the first to head out on track and also the first to get a timed lap. As the Brazilian is trying to gain more experience by lapping the track diligently, the other drivers are patiently waiting to head out on track.
Only when the session hits the 20 minute mark, Verstappen decides to make to the track on a set of the hard compound tyre. Max clocks a 0:55.194 on his first flying lap, this puts him second fastest. On the following lap Max spins at the second corner. The Dutchman manages to keep his nose clean and continues on without any issues. Max keeps on running and betters his time (0.55.091), at that moment he is third behind the Mercedes of Valtteri Bottas and George Russell. After a fifteen-lap stint Verstappen heads back to the pits.
With still twelve minutes remaining on the clock, Max is out and about again but this time round he has a set of the soft compound tyre strapped on to his RB16. On this set of rubber Max tops the timesheet as he does a 0.55.064. For the remainder of the session, no one is able to better the time set by Verstappen. This results in the Dutchman topping the board at the third practice. Bottas comes in two tenths slower than Verstappen and is second fastest, while Gasly finishes third. Esteban Ocon and Lando Norris round out the top five.
At 18.00 hrs. local Dutch time qualifying for the Sakhir Grand Prix will get underway.
Contest GP Sakhir: win a Max Verstappen RB12 Japan 1:43 scale model!
Results third free practice Sakhir:
| pos | driver | team | time | gap | laps | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Max Verstappen | VER | Red Bull Racing Honda | 54.064 | 23 | |
| 2 | Valtteri Bottas | BOT | Mercedes | 54.270 | +0.206s | 20 |
| 3 | Pierre Gasly | GAS | AlphaTauri Honda | 54.427 | +0.363s | 24 |
| 4 | Esteban Ocon | OCO | Renault | 54.453 | +0.389s | 21 |
| 5 | Lando Norris | NOR | McLaren Renault | 54.606 | +0.542s | 15 |
| 6 | Alexander Albon | ALB | Red Bull Racing Honda | 54.629 | +0.565s | 22 |
| 7 | George Russell | RUS | Mercedes | 54.664 | +0.600s | 20 |
| 8 | Sergio Perez | PER | Racing Point BWT Mercedes | 54.678 | +0.614s | 20 |
| 9 | Lance Stroll | STR | Racing Point BWT Mercedes | 54.693 | +0.629s | 18 |
| 10 | Carlos Sainz | SAI | McLaren Renault | 54.720 | +0.656s | 16 |
| 11 | Antonio Giovinazzi | GIO | Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari | 54.845 | +0.781s | 20 |
| 12 | Daniil Kvyat | KVY | AlphaTauri Honda | 54.850 | +0.786s | 23 |
| 13 | Charles Leclerc | LEC | Ferrari | 54.854 | +0.790s | 21 |
| 14 | Daniel Ricciardo | RIC | Renault | 54.857 | +0.793s | 15 |
| 15 | Sebastian Vettel | VET | Ferrari | 54.858 | +0.794s | 17 |
| 16 | Kimi Räikkönen | RAI | Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari | 55.171 | +1.107s | 20 |
| 17 | Kevin Magnussen | MAG | Haas Ferrari | 55.347 | +1.283s | 19 |
| 18 | Nicholas Latifi | LAT | Williams Mercedes | 55.493 | +1.429s | 21 |
| 19 | Pietro Fittipaldi | FIT | Haas Ferrari | 55.666 | +1.602s | 21 |
| 20 | Jack Aitken | AIT | Williams Mercedes | 55.670 | +1.606s | 23 |
