2024 F1 Bahrain Grand Prix - Qualifying - As it happened

That's what Chandhok thinks: "I still personally believe Ferrari and Leclerc will be the ones challenging Red Bull the most in qualifying. In terms of the race pace, the Red Bull still has a bit more but Oscar Piastri, Lando Norris are capable of getting onto that front row. The gap from second to eighth is super tight."

Not long now...

Last but not least is Red Bull. The reigning world champions haven't unleashed their true pace in Bahrain. 

Granted, Verstappen's race simulation in FP2 was mighty. Pole isn't a guarantee but Verstappen is a safe bet on Sunday.

There's no doubt that Ferrari will be a contender for pole position. Sainz topped the timesheets in FP3, while Leclerc was fourth-fastest. Leclerc hasn't quite got it together this weekend, making a mistake on his best effort in final practice. 

Mercedes were the talk of practice after their 1-2 finish in FP2, with Hamilton leading the way from Russell. Verstappen hinted their pace was down to engine mode, rather than a significant advantage. 

Mercedes look to be in the fight - but qualifying will give a definitive answer.

After a lacklustre Thursday, McLaren started to show their true pace in final practice. Without a mistake in S3, where Norris lost approximately 0.4s, he'd have topped the timesheets.

The McLaren does seem quite draggy and thus slow in a straight-line, but their pace in the middle part of the lap was impressive.

A contender for pole? Possibly, and if they are, it sets them up well for the rest of the year given their struggles in Bahrain in the past.

Aston Martin enjoyed a strong Q3 with Alonso setting the second-fastest time - a tenth or so off Sainz at the top. 

The team have gone under the radar with their level of performance. With Alonso in the car, they will no doubt have a good chance of qualifying well.

RB have showed flashes of pace in Bahrain with Ricciardo topping the timesheets in FP3.

As expected, they look to be in the middle of the pack, with a sniff of Q3 probably the maximum they can achieve in qualifying. 

Williams have been solid albeit spectacular so far. Albon is a safe bet to make Q2, but Sargeant continues to lag behind his teammate.

Given Williams have introduced an entirely new car concept for this year, it's been a respectable start - at least in practice.

The surprise of the Bahrain Grand Prix so far? Haas' pace has been very impressive, particularly as new boss Ayao Komatsu played down their chances when taking the role ahead of the new season.

Hulkenberg was ninth-fastest in final practice, while Magnussen was a respectable 15th. Haas, so far at least, have looked like a credible midfield contender in Bahrain - far from a backmarker as predicted. 

Another team struggling for pace is Sauber. While Bottas was pleased with the handling of his C44 in winter testing, the overall pace of it doesn't seem to be there, at least compared to Haas and Williams.

Like Alpine, both Saubers will be under threat to be knocked out in Q1.

Starting with Alpine...

Alpine have endured a torrid weekend so far with both Ocon and Gasly well down the order. If they get one car into Q2, it will be a good qualifying for the French outfit. 

It was Sainz who headed the timesheets in FP3 ahead of Alonso.

Here's the full order from final practice.

Despite a mistake in S1, Leclerc's lap is good enough for fourth in the Ferrari.

Sainz displaces Alonso at the top of the timesheets with a 1m30.824s. We are still waiting to see what Leclerc can do.

Norris was on a mighty lap but he's lost 0.5s to Alonso in the final sector - putting him third fastest.

A 1m30.965s for Alonso puts him less than a tenth ahead of Verstappen.

The benchmark is lowered to a 1m31.062s, 0.186s ahead of Perez for the reigning world champion.

A strong lap from Perez to take top spot with a 1m31.248s, 0.3s ahead of Alonso.

Verstappen is on course to beat it though. 

Tsunoda slots into fourth in the RB with a tidy 1m32.161s. Just 0.579s off Russell's early time.

Verstappen has been running on the hard tyre - but he's not been happy with how they've been performing.

"No, they felt really terrible," he says.