Mercedes driver George Russell's lap from the second hour of running remained the time to beat midway through the final day of the first Bahrain Formula 1 2026 test.
Russell's 1m33.918s, set on the soft C3 tyre at the start of the second hour, shortly after a red flag, was the fastest lap of testing so far - and the only lap completed below the 1m34s mark.
He also made up for lost time for Mercedes - which sat out most of Thursday morning with Kimi Antonelli as an engine was changed - with the second-most-productive lap count (78) of any driver.
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Lewis Hamilton's 1m34.209s, set shortly after Russell's best effort, remained the second-best time. He completed 69 laps for Ferrari and will be back in the car after the lunch break.
Max Verstappen and Ollie Bearman were third and fourth, with Oscar Piastri moving up to fifth through the morning for McLaren. His best time was 2.472 seconds slower than Russell's.
Franco Colapinto had a far more productive session than he had on Wednesday, completing 64 laps and setting a personal best time for the week of 1m36.874s, which was good enough for sixth.
Eighth-fastest Liam Lawson was the most productive driver, completing 84 laps for Racing Bulls.
Having caused the session's only red flag just before the end of the first hour, Cadillac did return to the track with Valtteri Bottas and ran solidly in the final hour.
Even so, Bottas ended the session with the slowest time and the fewest laps completed. His tally of 37 was 17 short of the next-lowest total, from Lance Stroll - who nevertheless had his most productive session in the Aston Martin yet.
Day three times (first session)
1 George Russell (Mercedes) 1m33.918s 78 laps
2 Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) 1m34.209s 69 laps
3 Max Verstappen (Red Bull) 1m35.341s 61 laps
4 Ollie Bearman (Haas) 1m35.972s 70 laps
5 Oscar Piastri (McLaren) 1m36.390s 73 laps
6 Franco Colapinto (Alpine) 1m36.874s 64 laps
7 Carlos Sainz (Williams) 1m37.186s 68 laps
8 Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) 1m37.238s 84 laps
9 Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi) 1m37.536s 60 laps
10 Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) 1m38.423s 54 laps
11 Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac) 1m38.772s 37 laps
