Raikkonen keeps Ferrari ahead in final practice in Bahrain

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Kimi Raikkonen confirmed Ferrari's ambitions for pole position this evening, the Finn leading the third and final practice session in Bahrain.

The Finn concluded the session 0.525s ahead of the Red Bull duo of Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo, while a struggling Lewis Hamilton was fourth.

Bahrain Grand Prix - Free Practice 3 results

PosDriverTeamTimeGapLaps
1Kimi RäikkönenFerrari1:29.868s15
2Max VerstappenRed Bull1:30.393s+ 0.525s8
3Daniel RicciardoRed Bull1:30.452s+ 0.584s8
4Lewis HamiltonMercedes1:30.691s+ 0.823s14
5Sebastian VettelFerrari1:30.719s+ 0.851s8
6Valtteri BottasMercedes1:30.781s+ 0.913s16
7Nico HülkenbergRenault1:31.144s+ 1.276s11
8Carlos SainzRenault1:31.200s+ 1.332s12
9Pierre GaslyToro Rosso1:31.438s+ 1.570s18
10Fernando AlonsoMcLaren1:31.445s+ 1.577s13
11Brendon HartleyToro Rosso1:31.460s+ 1.592s18
12Romain GrosjeanHaas1:31.513s+ 1.645s14
13Esteban OconForce India1:31.554s+ 1.686s17
14Sergio PérezForce India1:31.564s+ 1.696s14
15Kevin MagnussenHaas1:31.737s+ 1.869s14
16Marcus EricssonSauber1:31.859s+ 1.991s17
17Stoffel VandoorneMcLaren1:31.860s+ 1.992s14
18Charles LeclercSauber1:32.047s+ 2.179s19
19Sergey SirotkinWilliams1:32.463s+ 2.595s11
20Lance StrollWilliams1:32.865s+ 2.997s12

Drivers took to the Sakhir track under hot and sunny conditions for a final opportunity to tweak and refine their set-up before this evening's crucial qualifying session.

Carlos Sainz was the first driver to post a relevant time with a 1m33.893s, which in turn woke everybody else up, and especially Valtteri Bottas who immediately shaved off three seconds from the Renault driver's time

Meanwhile, Sebastian Vettel was called back to the Ferrari garage for a loose deflector on the right hand side of his Ferrari.

Most drivers struggled to equal or beat their Friday times but Toro Rosso's Brendon Hartley was one man did improve on yesterday's performance, in part thanks to a few updated parts on his STR13 which had not been installed at the outset.

Twenty minutes from the end of the session, both Ferrari drivers upped the pace, with Kimi Raikkonen jumping to the top of the timesheet with a 1m29.868s set on a brand new set of supersoft rubber.

In a bid to remain in contact with the Scuderia's contenders, Lewis Hamilton ran wide at the final corner but still managed to slot his Mercedes into P2, about 0.8s down on Raikkonen.

Back in the Silver Arrows garage, his crew informed him that he was losing time "mainly in the middle sector", but also that there was a "power difference" to Raikkonen, something Toto Wolff alluded to yesterday.

In the Ferrari camp, Vettel reported something "quite bad" around Turns 11 and 12 before being ordered to pit immediately, remaining in the Scuderia box for the remainder of the session.

Both Red Bull drivers moved up the order following good qualifying simulations, Verstappen placing himself P2, just ahead of Daniel Ricciardo.

The order was frozen for the final minutes of the session, Raikkonen holding his own at the front while the struggling pair of Hamilton and Vettel was left to ponder its fate two hours before this evening's thrilling qualifying session.

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