Max Verstappen dominates Bahrain GP final practice to seal a hat-trick ahead of first F1 2021 qualifying battle

Max Verstappen was fastest in the final session to complete practice for the Bahrain GP; The Red Bull driver finishes seven tenths of a second ahead of Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton; Watch qualifying live at 3pm on Sky Sports F1, with preparation starting at 2pm

Max Verstappen appears to be the big favorite on the pole at the opening Bahrain GP of the F1 2021 season after the Red Bull driver completed a dominant practice hat-trick on Saturday, with a huge lead over Mercedes.

Verstappen has been the fastest driver in any condition so far this weekend, and that was the case again in a hot final practice as he continued his and Red Bull’s momentum with an impressive time that was about 0.7 seconds. faster than Lewis Hamilton, his closest challenger.

Valtteri Bottas struggled and was only fourth in the other Mercedes, which has failed to make it through any practice sessions in an F1 opening weekend of the season for the first time since its hybrid-era title streak began in 2014.

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With Sergio Pérez fifth for Red Bull, it appears to be a Verstappen vs Hamilton fight for pole position, with the first qualifying of the season live at 3:00 p.m. on Sky Sports F1, with preparation from 2:00 p.m.

“I think we all wonder how it happened,” said Sky F1’s Jenson Button.

“Really impressive. One, because Max is 1.3 seconds ahead of Sergio Pérez, his teammate who is not far behind.

“And, two, being seven tenths above Lewis … I’m really looking forward to seeing if he can take that to qualifying.”

“Mercedes will be faster in qualifying when conditions are cooler, but Max is always on it.”

0:44

Lando Norris greets his former teammate Carlos Sainz at P3 in Bahrain.

The midfield battle is difficult to predict after a session in unrepresentative conditions, although AlphaTauri ranks at a high level after Pierre Gasly placed third.

Ferrari, despite a spin from Charles Leclerc, also impressed with Carlos Sainz sixth, while Alfa Romeo and Alpine, for the first time this weekend, also reached the top 10 through Kimi Raikkonen and Esteban Ocon, respectively.

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Charles Leclerc struggles to maintain his grip and turns into Turn 2.

Following their flashy pace on Friday, McLaren had a low-key final practice as Daniel Ricciardo and Lando Norris finished only 10th and 16th, although the Woking team will be relying on Q3 on penalties.

That may be a stretch for veteran world champions Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso, who were only 14th and 15th in their new Aston Martin and Alpine in P3.