Kimi Antonelli Dominates Final Practice at the Bahrain Grand Prix
During the final practice session at the Bahrain Grand Prix held in Malaysia, Kimi Antonelli from Mercedes showcased a remarkable recovery, claiming the fastest time of the day. This performance marked a notable comeback from what had been a less-than-ideal start for the championship-leading Mercedes team on Friday.
Friday’s Challenges
The Mercedes team arrived at Sepang with significant upgrades to their W17 car but faced unexpected difficulties. In the opening practice sessions, they achieved modest results with placements of second and fifth in FP1 and seventh and eighth in FP2, notably lagging behind their competitors.
Friday Practice Results
- FP1 Results: 2nd and 5th for Mercedes
- FP2 Results: 7th and 8th for Mercedes
The competitive landscape appeared strong, particularly with teams like McLaren beginning to show improved performance.
Strong Comeback on Saturday
In a successful turnaround, Antonelli clocked a time of 1:36.302 in the final practice, surpassing Max Verstappen’s earlier pace by two-tenths of a second. This session comes as the first time F1 has returned to Malaysia since 2017, a venue historically known for its unpredictable weather.
Conditions and Tire Strategy
Despite the anticipation of varied weather, the third practice was dry, as were the initial sessions. Drivers were keen to test the performance of the hard tires, with tire degradation proving to be critical earlier in the weekend on the hot and low-grip track surface.
Charles Leclerc in a Ferrari set an impressive early time of 1:37.772 on hard tires, securing third place—further indicating the effective tire strategy being employed by various teams.
Final Practice Highlights
As the session unfolded, several drivers made strategic decisions about which tire compounds to utilize:
- Leclerc was the lone driver on hard tires, initially aiming to execute a strategy that could pay off in qualifying.
- Both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri of McLaren capitalized on medium tires, achieving competitive times but still off the pace set by the frontrunners.
Session Summary
A brief red flag incident was caused by debris from Oliver Bearman’s Haas, but upon resumption, drivers quickly switched to soft tires. Antonelli leveraged this opportunity to snatch the top spot, followed by tight competition from other top-tier teams. At the close of practice, the standings revealed:
- 1st: Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) – 1:36.302
- 2nd: Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing) – 1:36.580
- 3rd: Isack Hadjar (Red Bull Racing) – 1:36.860
- 4th: George Russell (Mercedes) – 1:36.912
- 5th: Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) – 1:37.016
- 6th: Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) – 1:37.041
- 7th: Lando Norris (McLaren) – 1:37.161
- 8th: Oscar Piastri (McLaren) – 1:37.366
- 9th: Franco Colapinto (Alpine)
- 10th: Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls)
A Look Ahead
As the Bahrain Grand Prix approaches, the anticipation heightens with teams closely evaluating their strategies and performance based on the final practice results. Both Mercedes and Ferrari are looking to capture the advantage over competitors like Red Bull, promising an exciting race ahead.
