Spare a thought for Kimi Antonelli this weekend. Not only is the Italian preparing to go flat-out in pursuit of a maiden pole position, the 18-year-old is also studying for his final school exams. In Bahrain, he's on the hunt for some help with his maths homework. Team-mate George is his first choice, engineer Pete Bonnington is his second.

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It wasn't the race victory at Suzuka but a double podium for McLaren puts them 36 points clear of second-placed Mercedes and 50 points free of Red Bull in third.

Williams are leading the midfield pack, while Alpine are the only team not a score a point so far this season.

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The win in Japan has moved defending champion Max Verstappen to within one point of leader Lando Norris after three rounds of racing in 2025. Oscar Piastri has moved to fourth in the standings, 13 points off his team-mate Norris.

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Those tears in Melbourne seem a long time ago for Isack Hadjar. The Racing Bulls rookie has quietly gone about his business since his opening race disappointment and is now hoping to secure his third appearance in a top-10 shootout.

Frenchman Hadjar qualified above both new team-mate Liam Lawson and promoted Red Bull driver Yuki Tsunoda last weekend and brought home his first points of the campaign by finishing eighth at Suzuka.

For Tsunoda, lifting himself higher up the field and closer to team-mate Max Verstappen - making it through to Q3 - will be high priority. His first outing for Red Bull saw him knocked out in Q2 on home soil and just missing out on points the following day.

The floodlights are now twinkling in the paddock as we get ready for the fourth qualifying session of the season. Temperatures may have cooled slightly from the scorching conditions earlier but the wind that was an issue during third practice is set to stick around for tonight's action.

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Sealing pole in Q3 is something four-time world champion Max Verstappen has done at the past two Bahrain Grand Prix weekends, plus taking the race victory from lights out. He also booked the front-row position during that memorable 2021 season, but on that occasion it was then Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton who triumphed from P2.

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Pierre Gasly couldn't help but admire the pace of Oscar Piastri's McLaren over the team radio during third practice, as the Australian driver put his car top of the timesheets by 0.668 seconds from team-mate Lando Norris on another hot day in Bahrain.

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc was the only other driver to get within a second of Piastri's marker, finishing his final practice hour in third place. George Russell was fourth and his teenage team-mate Kimi Antonelli completed the top five in fifth spot.

Max Verstappen has been a little bit unhappy with his Red Bull this weekend, aborting one of his flying laps and making a few set-up changes early on in FP3. However, when I asked at 14:10 if you thought the Dutchman could grab a surprise pole this weekend, just like he did in Japan last time out - a lap that was called one of his best ever - 391 of you gave it the thumbs up. So watch this space...

I asked at you 13:59 to place your bets on who you thought would claim pole position today: Lando Norris or Oscar Piastri?

It was a close battle between the two team-mates but Piastri takes it with 924 of your thumbs.

Norris has been the clear winner in the qualifying head-to-head against Piastri during their time at McLaren. But is this season the turning point over one lap for the Australian?

Image source, .

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Hello again, folks. Saturday's main attraction is less than 30 minutes away. Will we see another different driver on pole position today? With the way practice has played out, the odds of a McLaren versus McLaren shootout is highly likely.

Q1 goes green at 17:00 BST.

Live commentary is available on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra, BBC Sounds, at the top of this page using the 'listen live' tab and by asking BBC Sounds to play Bahrain Grand Prix qualifying via most smart speakers.

Andrew Benson
BBC F1 correspondent

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Oscar Piastri underlined McLaren’s status as hot favourites for the Bahrain Grand Prix with an impressive performance in final practice.

The Australian led team-mate Lando Norris to a McLaren one-two. Piastri was 0.668 seconds faster than Norris and 0.834secs ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc in third.

The second Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton was 10th, 0.631secs behind Leclerc. Both Ferraris have a new floor design this weekend which seems to have done little to reduce the gap to McLaren.

Mercedes drivers George Russell and Andrea Kimi Antonelli were fourth and fifth, but more than a second adrift of Piastri.

Alpine’s Pierre Gasly was sixth fastest from Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar.

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, winner in Japan last weekend, was eighth fastest and 1.381secs off the pace. The Dutchman’s team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was 19th.

The session was free of major incidents, as so many are in Bahrain with its expansive run-off areas.

But many drivers ran wide in Turn 11 at the end of the back straight, where there was a tailwind that made judging the corner entry speed tricky.

And Russell had a spin at Turn 10, the hairpin at the start of that straight, as his tyres ran out of grip in the middle of the session.

That was a good session if you're a McLaren fan, with Oscar Piastri looking a safe bet for pole position this afternoon. But anything can happen under the lights - and when the temperatures cool down.

We'll park up here and take a quick pit stop and then come back at 16:30 BST for qualifying build-up.

See you shortly!

Andrew, Harry and Jennie are back to look ahead to events in Bahrain this weekend. They ask what have we learnt from the first three races of the season and hear from Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton and Oscar Piastri. And Andrew brings us up to date with what is happening at the FIA after a bumpy few days for the governing body.

Have a listen to the podcast during the break.

11. Esteban Ocon (Haas)

12. Jack Doohan (Alpine)

13. Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls)

14. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)

15. Alex Albon (Williams)

16. Ollie Bearman (Haas)

17. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)

18. Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber)

19. Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber)

20. Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull)

1. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) - 1:31.646

2. Lando Norris (McLaren) +0.668

3. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +0.834

4. George Russell (Mercedes) +1.181

5. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) +1.270

6. Pierre Gasly (Alpine) +1.328

7. Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls) +1.377

8. Max Verestappen (Red Bull) +1.381

9. Carlos Sainz (Williams) +1.446

10. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) +1.465

Marc Priestley
Former F1 mechanic on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

Let's not underestimate the potential shift that could happen in terms of performance up and down the grid as the temperatures change as we move into the evening.

The scorching temperatures in Sakhir are definitely affecting some cars more than others. Yuki Tsunoda is down in 19th spot and has bolted on a set of hard tyres for the final minutes of this session. Will the Japanese driver make it into Q3 this afternoon?

Marc Priestley
Former F1 mechanic on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

That looks like a comparable lap time between Oscar Piastri and George Russell and it's over a second slower to the Mercedes.

Lando Norris has inched the closest to his McLaren team-mate but Oscar Piastri is way out in front. The gap between the pair is 0.668 seconds.

Charles Leclerc in the upgraded Ferrari goes third on the timesheets but Lewis Hamilton can only manage 10th behind the Williams of Carlos Sainz.

All times are soft tyre times.