Mercedes continued their dominance of the practice sessions this weekend as Lewis Hamilton topped the time sheets after the final practice session. Valterri Bottas made it a 1-2 for the team in the session, but with Ferrari lurking close behind a close battle between the two teams looks set to commence in qualifying and the race.
The battle between the two teams looks as tight as it has been all season, with many paddock observers thinking Ferrari have not yet shown their true pace whilst remaining only three tenths behind with both Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel having the potential to take pole position ahead of the seemingly dominant thus far.
It was a less than convincing session for third placed team Red Bull, with Max Verstappen down in 12th spot after suffering an electrical issue early in the session that will see him struggling to get out for qualifying later on. His teammate Daniel Ricciardo did set a full set of laps but his best time was seven tenths away from Lewis Hamilton with a lot of work to do seemingly for the Milton Keynes marque.
It was the Haas team who headed the midfield in this session grabbing sixth and seventh position ahead of the Renault's and seemingly resurgent McLaren's and will be looking to use their pace to finally get both cars in the points after having squandered several points already this season.
it was a mixed session for Toro Rosso, with Pierre Gasly managing to get his car into the top ten and positioning himself for a potential points finish come Sunday but teammate Brendon Hartley's crash at the end of the session will have put a sour note on the proceedings and leaving the team with a tough task getting his car ready for qualifying.
It was a disappointing session again for the likes of Sauber and Force India who seem to be set for a return to the back of the grid after a great weekend last time out for both teams and will be battling it out with the likes of Williams to get out of the first qualifying session.
Sam Gale
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Bahrain International Circuit - Winter testing
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