Two-time Formula 1 World Champion Fernando Alonso also set the pace in the Aston Martin in the final practice session for the Bahrain Grand Prix. For the English racing team, which was surprisingly strong at the start of the season, the successor to the retired Sebastian Vettel raced to the best time of 1:32.340 minutes.
Before qualifying on Saturday (4:00 p.m. CET / Sky), the Spaniard relegated world champion Max Verstappen in the Red Bull to second place (0.005 seconds). Third at a track temperature of almost 40 degrees in Sakhir was Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Perez (0.106 seconds). Alonso had set the best time the day before.
However, the times are only of limited significance, as the qualification and the opening race on Sunday (4:00 p.m. CET/Sky) will be held under floodlights. However, Aston Martin have shown that they have made strong progress over the winter compared to the difficult season of last year.
Returnee Nico Hülkenberg finished the last practice session for the Bahrain Grand Prix in 15th place. The 35-year-old was 1.083 seconds behind leader Alonso in the Haas.
