Mercedes back in the mix as Alonso continues stunning Aston Martin charge

Ewan Gale
Saturday 4 March 2023 12:33 - Updated: 15:08

Fernando Alonso continued Aston Martin's stellar Bahrain Grand Prix weekend with the fastest time in final practice.

The Spaniard set a one minute, 32.340secs, 0.005s faster than Max Verstappen.

But the Red Bull driver suffered a snap of oversteer at the final corner, indicating there is performance left to show come qualifying.

Sergio Perez completed the top three to underline Red Bull's pace despite issues delaying the Mexican's run plan.

The final session presents unrepresentative conditions for qualifying and the race with the 60 minutes being run underneath the desert sun and not the coolness of the night.

Mercedes closed the gap to the top with Lewis Hamilton and George Russell two and four-tenths off the pace respectively.

Charles Leclerc could only split the Mercedes with the fifth fastest time, with the Scuderia seemingly in a battle with the Brackley-based outfit to be the third-quickest team.

Lance Stroll was half a second down on team-mate Alonso, but his recovery from two broken wrists continues to impress. Crucially, the left wrist that was being nursed through Friday's running was in full use through the turn one hairpin.

The second Ferrari of Carlos Sainz could only manage eighth, six-tenths down on compatriot Alonso's effort, with Oscar Piastri impressing for McLaren in the race for best of the rest.

Pierre Gasly rounded out the top 10 just ahead of new Alpine team-mate Esteban Ocon.

Hamilton was left unhappy with Mercedes after missing the opportunity to return to the track for end-of-session practice starts, with his final opportunity to do so now coming at pit exit ahead of the race.

Bahrain Grand Prix final practice results

1. Fernando Alonso [Aston Martin] - 1:32.340

2. Max Verstappen [Red Bull] - +0.005secs

3. Sergio Perez [Red Bull] - +0.106s

4. Lewis Hamilton [Mercedes] - +0.215s

5. Charles Leclerc [Ferrari] - +0.284s

6. George Russell [Mercedes] - +0.391s

7. Lance Stroll [Aston Martin] - +0.579s

8. Carlos Sainz [Ferrari] - +0.605s

9. Oscar Piastri [McLaren] - +0.705s

10. Pierre Gasly [Alpine] - +0.724s

11. Esteban Ocon [Alpine] - +0.776s

12. Zhou Guanyu [Alfa Romeo] - +0.840s

13. Lando Norris [McLaren] - +0.862s

14. Kevin Magnussen [Haas] - +1.041s

15. Nico Hulkenberg [Haas] - +1.083s

16. Yuki Tsunoda [AlphaTauri] - +1.135s

17. Valtteri Bottas [Alfa Romeo] - +1.289s

18. Logan Sargeant [Williams] - +1.325s

19. Alex Albon [Williams] - +1.542s

20. Nyck de Vries [AlphaTauri] - +1.742s