Verstappen sets pace again despite Mercedes improvement

Max Verstappen continued to set the pace in the final practice session ahead of the opening Grand Prix of the season, but there was encouragement for Mercedes as they closed the gap on Red Bull and Ferrari ahead of qualifying in Bahrain.

World champion Verstappen delivered a 1:32.544 to once more finish ahead of the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc, but Mercedes' improvement was notable as the 'big three' teams locked out the front six places, with under 0.6s covering all of them.

The other Red Bull of Sergio Perez was third, with George Russell and Lewis Hamilton in fourth and sixth respectively for Mercedes, separated by the Ferrari of Carlos Sainz.

For several reasons, including the day-time conditions - the timings from Practice 3 may not be fully representative of what can be expected during the night-time qualifying later on Saturday, but the teams appeared to come the closest they have to running realistic simulations.

Mercedes have trailed Red Bull and Ferrari throughout the pre-season, with seven-time world champion Hamilton insisting on Friday evening his team have "big problems" for which there is no "short-term" fix, but their performance undoubtedly represented an improvement.

The 'porpoising' problems that have plagued them throughout the pre-season, which cause the car to bounce severely in high-speed parts of the track, appeared to be at least partially overcome, with Hamilton's suffering of the issue reduced despite the car running low to the ground.

However, it remains to be seen how much of their potential Red Bull and Ferrari have unleashed, with Verstappen and Leclerc still comfortably bettering Mercedes, who still appear to have a less settled setup than their rivals.

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