F1: Ferrari Setting The Pace At Bahrain

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Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen proved Ferrari wil be a threat at the Bahrain GP by securing a 1-2 finish in Practice Three, ahead of MercedesAMG drivers Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton.

Mr. Vettel topped the time sheets with a 1:31:683 on the supersoft tires.

Mr. Raikkonen was just 4/100’s of a sec behind his team-mate while Mr. Rosberg, who was denied a hat-trick of fastest times in practice in Bahrain, at edged out Hamilton again to finish P3 in 3rd.

The fact MercedesAMG found themselves nearly half a second down on Ferrari on the same compound may be a concern ahead of qualifying later Saturday.

The track temperature peaked at 36 degrees at the Bahrain International Circuit and Ferrari’s pace looked encouraging throughout.

On the soft compound, Messrs Rosberg and Hamilton set identical times before Mr. Raikkonen took control as his team-mate concentrated on longer stints. Mr. Vettel later proved his 1-lap pace was something to be reckoned with.

MercedesAMG have history of struggling in the heat with last year’s Singapore GP, a race in which Ferrari and Vettel dominated, offering similar conditions to what the drivers experienced on Saturday afternoon.

Paddy Lowe admitted the rising track temperature was the problem but was confident Mercedes’ edge would return in the evening. Their quickest time in P3 was more than a sec slower than Mr. Rosberg’s fastest Friday.

The battle for maximum points again looks like it will be between Ferrari and MercedesAMG but Valtteri Bottas will have been happy to secure 5th in the Williams, albeit 0.5’s behind Mr. Hamilton.

Haas, after their excellent debut in Australia impressed in P3. Romain Grosjean finished the session in 6th with team-mate Esteban Gutierrez 2 places, and 0.25’s, behind him.