Formula 1 News: Russell tops morning times on Day 3 testing in Bahrain

The first four hours of Formula 1 preseason testing Friday at the Bahrain International Circuit are done and dusted, leaving four more hours to come this afternoon. George Russell (pictured) topped the session for Mercedes with a 1m33.918s lap on hard Pirelli tires.

Russell was 0.291s clear of his former teammate Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari, with Max Verstappen 1.4s behind in third.

Russell’s time was the fastest for the week so far.

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Ollie Bearman was fourth as Haas continue to have a solid test, while Oscar Piastri was fifth for McLaren.

There were more dramas for Cadillac, who once again brought out an early red flag in the morning session.

Having suffered an issue with Sergio Perez on Thursday, it was Valtteri Bottas’ time to suffer a stoppage of the Cadillac with Ferrari power.

The marshals quickly retrieved Bottas’ car, however, and got the session back underway after a brief pause.

Bottas spent a considerable amount of time in the pits, before carrying out a series of installation laps with around 90 minutes to go.

He eventually managed some sustained running in the Cadillac, completing over 30 laps to end the first session 11th with a 1m38.772s.

Franco Colapinto was sixth in the Alpine ahead of Williams’ Carlos Sainz and Racing Bulls’ Liam Lawson, who completed the most laps of anyone in the first session.

Gabriel Bortoleto was ninth for Audi, while Aston Martin continued to lap well off the pace in 10th with Lance Stroll after 54 laps.

Bahrain Day 3 Test Results – Morning Times