Bahrain GP, Practice Three: Kimi Raikkonen fastest as Mercedes struggle to match Ferrari
Raikkonen fastest by half a second from both Red Bulls; Hamilton fourth and eight tenths down; Vettel fifth but compromised by loose bargeboard and engine trouble
Thursday 13 December 2018 12:34, UK
Kimi Raikkonen and Ferrari maintained their impressive start to the Bahrain GP weekend as they posted the fastest time in Practice Three, while Mercedes continued to struggle to match their rivals.
The Finn, quickest in Friday practice, posted a best time of 1:29.868 to top the timesheet by half a second on new supersoft tyres.
Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo went second and third fastest late in the session for Red Bull, but Mercedes could not get close to Raikkonen's time, with Lewis Hamilton - who faces a five-place grid penalty - fourth and eight tenths down.
The Briton was also only two hundredths of a second ahead of Sebastian Vettel, who set his best time on old supersofts.
Vettel's running was compromised by the bargeboard on his Ferrari coming loose on his opening flying lap, while his session was brought to a premature end as he complained of engine drivability issues.
Ferrari mechanics were working frantically on the German's car following the session in a bid to fix the issue by Qualifying.
"Kimi is looking very good," said Sky F1's Johnny Herbert.
"We know how good he is and is a world champion. We saw that raw pace in Monaco last year it's just getting all those ingredients to come together.
"But he is putting Sebastian under pressure."
Bottas was sixth in the second Mercedes but nearly a second back on Raikkonen's benchmark and only three tenths ahead of the Renaults of Nico Hulkenberg and Carlos Sainz.
Pierre Gasly continued Toro Rosso's encouraging performance so far to take ninth, just ahead of Fernando Alonso's McLaren and team-mate Brendon Hartley.
But it was another disappointing session for Williams with Sergey Sirotkin and Lance Stroll 19th and 20th in the timesheet and well behind the Saubers.
