Russell tops morning timesheets on Day 3 of first pre-season test in Bahrain

George Russell set the pace during the morning session on the third day of pre-season testing in Bahrain, the Mercedes driver heading Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen on the timesheets.

Hamilton was the first to head out in the Ferrari – taking over driving duties after Charles Leclerc set the pace during his stint on Thursday – as Day 3 began, while a busy start saw most of the remaining cars follow, with Lance Stroll the last to emerge at the wheel of the Aston Martin.

As the teams continue to learn about their new cars amid new technical regulations, several were sporting aero rakes or flow-vis paint during their initial runs.

While the running initially looked to be going smoothly, the first red flag was thrown towards the end of the first hour when Valtteri Bottas’ Cadillac stopped out on track. The action soon got underway again once the car was cleared, as the drivers continued with their programmes.

Some looked to be starting to push – including Gabriel Bortoleto, who had a wide moment in the Audi through the final corner, while Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson also had a slide at the same area shortly afterwards.

As others experienced some slips and slides, Bottas rejoined the fray with one hour and a quarter remaining in the session, the Finn left with some work to catch up to his rivals in terms of lap counts.

Russell spent much of the session at the top of the timesheets as well as holding the highest mileage, the Silver Arrows seemingly enjoying a better morning after a power unit issue in Thursday’s opening session left Kimi Antonelli with only three laps to his name.

While the lap counts continued to build through the final stages, Russell’s benchmark of 1m 33.918s – the fastest time set so far during the first Bahrain test – remained at the top, his effort 0.291s clear of Hamilton in second.

Verstappen was third fastest in the Red Bull, ahead of Haas’ Ollie Bearman, Oscar Piastri in the McLaren, Alpine’s Franco Colapinto and the Williams of Carlos Sainz.

Lawson slotted into eighth – the New Zealander ending the session with the highest lap count of 84 – while Bortoleto, Stroll and Bottas completed the classification.

The teams will now have a one-hour lunch break to examine the data before the final afternoon session of the first test begins at 1500 local time, with Mercedes, Red Bull, Williams, Haas, Audi and Cadillac all set to change drivers.