Antonelli sets the pace as Mercedes lead final Malaysian practice
Kimi Antonelli topped a closely fought and disrupted FP3 session for the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, setting a 1:36.202 to finish fastest ahead of Max Verstappen.
Mercedes emerged as the team to beat during the final stages of practice, with Antonelli repeatedly improving the benchmark as the session moved towards its conclusion. Verstappen finished second, while George Russell remained fourth after failing to improve on his final attempt.
Charles Leclerc was fifth, with both McLaren drivers also featuring prominently throughout the session as teams continued to assess their qualifying pace ahead of the afternoon's main event.
Conditions were hot at Sepang, with the air temperature reaching 32°C and humidity sitting at 51 percent. The track temperature was 56°C at the beginning of the session, falling slightly to 55°C with 16 minutes remaining.
The C2, C3 and C4 tyre compounds were available to the drivers, with majority of drivers and teams opting for the C3 compound tyres.
Early running
Perez was the first driver to head onto the circuit, with Colapinto following shortly afterwards.
Colapinto immediately set the early benchmark, going purple through Sectors 1 and 2 on his opening flying Lap to record a 1:39.417 and move into first.
Perez initially followed in second, while Lawson moved into third as more drivers began to complete their opening runs.
Gasly then delivered the first major improvement of the session. The Alpine driver went purple through both Sector 1 and Sector 2 before crossing the line with a 1:38.241.
That was enough to put Gasly first by 0.794 seconds over his Alpine teammate Colapinto.
Perez responded with a 1:41.080 to move into third, while Lindblad struggled to match the pace at the front. The rookie went green through Sector 1 before losing significant time in Sector 2, eventually finishing his Lap 6.321 seconds away from Gasly's benchmark.
Leclerc then moved the session forward another step.
The Ferrari driver went green in Sector 1 before setting a purple Sector 2, eventually recording a 1:37.772 on the hard tyre to take first.
Hulkenberg briefly moved into second before his teammate Bortoleto went even quicker, putting the Sauber drivers second and third behind Leclerc.
At this stage, the top six consisted of Leclerc, Gasly, Bortoleto, Hulkenberg, Colapinto and Perez.
McLaren enters the fight
The first major McLaren challenge came from Norris, who began a flying Lap on the medium compound.
Norris went green through Sector 1 before setting a purple Sector 2. The McLaren driver then completed the Lap in 1:37.161, taking first and lowering Leclerc's benchmark by more than half a second.
Piastri followed his teammate onto the medium tyre and also produced a competitive run. The Australian went green through both Sector 1 and Sector 2 to move into second, 0.322 seconds behind Norris.
Ocon subsequently moved into fourth, while Stroll briefly climbed to fifth.
That represented a strong early showing for Aston Martin, with Stroll placing himself among several established front-running drivers during the first phase of the session.
Bearman also moved into fifth before Alonso completed his Lap and moved ahead of Ocon.
The order was continuing to change rapidly as more drivers completed their first representative runs, but the session was soon interrupted.
Red flag interrupts the session
A red flag was brought out after debris came off Bearman's car, forcing the drivers to return to the pits while the circuit was cleared.
Piastri was among the first drivers back into the pits following the stoppage, with the remainder of the field also waiting for the track to be declared safe.
Once the debris had been removed, the circuit went under yellow flags before the session resumed. The pit exit was temporarily closed before the green flag was eventually shown.
With the session back underway, both McLarens headed out on new out-laps as the teams began preparing for another round of qualifying simulations.
Mercedes takes control
Mercedes immediately showed its pace after the restart.
Antonelli produced purple sectors in both Sector 1 and Sector 2 before completing his flying Lap in 1:36.924.
The Italian moved to first and established a new benchmark for the rest of the field to chase.
Russell was also quick. The Mercedes driver set a purple Sector 1 before going green in Sector 2, eventually recording a 1:37.053 to move into second.
Verstappen then completed his own run, going purple in Sector 1 and green in Sector 2. The Red Bull driver moved into fourth as the order continued to shuffle.
Hamilton initially had a more difficult run after the restart, sitting 21st after his Lap. Hadjar, meanwhile, remained impressive and climbed into sixth.
Hadjar's pace came despite some frustration over the balance of his car. The driver complained that the car felt unpredictable through Turns 1 and 9, but he was still able to remain inside the top six.
Alonso moved into 10th, while Lawson sat 12th.
Hulkenberg, meanwhile, dropped to 16th after yellow sectors through both Sector 1 and Sector 2. He also reported that his right-hand mirror was moving, adding another issue to deal with during the session.
Final qualifying simulations
With the track temperature still at 55°C and 16 minutes remaining, the field began moving towards its final qualifying-style runs.
Norris struggled to improve his existing time. He went green through Sector 1 but encountered yellow sectors in Sectors 2 and 3, leaving him without an improvement.
Piastri was able to find more time. The McLaren driver went green through Sectors 1 and 2 and improved his personal benchmark on the soft tyre, although he remained fifth overall.
Stroll also completed another competitive Lap, going green through Sectors 1 and 2 as he continued to hold a place inside the midfield.
Gasly was unable to make a significant improvement, going yellow through Sector 1 before recovering with a green Sector 2 and remaining 10th.
Leclerc then returned to the fight.
The Ferrari driver went green through both Sector 1 and Sector 2 to move into second, showing that Ferrari still had enough pace to challenge Mercedes and Red Bull over a single Lap.
Russell responded with another strong attempt. Despite a yellow Sector 1, he produced a purple Sector 2 and moved into fourth, 0.610 seconds away from the benchmark at that stage.
Antonelli answered once again.
The Mercedes driver went green through Sector 1 and purple through Sector 2 to take the fastest time with a 1:36.302.
Verstappen was also able to improve, moving into second and finishing just 0.278 seconds away from Antonelli.
As the final minutes ticked away, the field largely settled into its final runs.
Leclerc was unable to improve after going yellow in Sector 1 and green in Sector 2, leaving him fifth. Hamilton also failed to improve after recording yellow sectors through the opening two sectors.
Russell's final attempt did not produce an improvement either, meaning he remained fourth.
Antonelli, however, still had one final improvement left.
The Mercedes driver crossed the line with a 1:36.202, lowering his own benchmark and finishing FP3 at the top of the timing sheets.
Mercedes leads the way
Antonelli therefore ended final practice fastest for the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, with Verstappen 0.278 seconds behind.
Russell remained fourth, while Leclerc finished fifth after Ferrari showed competitive pace during several phases of the session.
McLaren also demonstrated strong potential, with Norris setting the benchmark during the opening phase on the medium tyre and Piastri remaining close to the front throughout the session.
The session was ultimately defined by the changing order between Mercedes, Red Bull, Ferrari and McLaren, as well as the interruption caused by debris from Bearman's car.
With the track remaining extremely hot and the gaps at the front relatively small, FP3 provided a final indication of the competitive picture before the drivers return to the circuit for Qualifying at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia.
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