Rookie Isack Hadjar is also catching the eye once again. From not even starting the Australian Grand Prix at the start of the season, the Frenchman has put his Racing Bulls fourth on the timesheets.

That turns to fifth, however, as George Russell goes P2 in the Mercedes. Oscar Piastri's time is 1:31.646 and drawing gasps from the rest of the field. "I can't believe how fast the McLarens are," says Pierre Gasly.

Harry Benjamin
BBC F1 Commentator

Oscar Piastri is looking quick round here, he's on fire.

Max Verstappen has gone purple in the middle sector and by the end of the lap, the Dutchman has gone top with a 1:33.027. His stay doesn't last, however, as Pierre Gasly shoots to P1 with a time of 1:32.974.

Oscar Piastri is flying. The McLaren driver is purple in the opening sector and beats Gasly's time by 1.328 seconds. Gasly shifts to third, as Kimi Antonelli slips in to second. Still a long way off Piastri's time, though...

Fernando Alonso is in the top five at it stands but the two-time world champion can't improve with his latest flying lap on the softs, so he stays in fourth place. Turn 13 was sticking point for the Aston Martin driver.

Image source, Getty Images

Marc Priestley
Former F1 mechanic on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

That's one thing you can learn in these sessions is the aerodynamic characteristics remain pretty much unchanged.

Lots of teams and cars have this flow visualisation paint sprayed across the aerodynamic upgrades that have been brought.

The mechanics are now being put to work to fix Charles Leclerc's mirror. A new one comes out of the drawer and is popped on with minimal fuss. The Monegasque driver is fifth on the timesheets, just under a second away from Oscar Piastri's top time.

George Russell's mirrors are fine. His tyres may not be, however, as he suffers a spin at Turn 10. The Briton is back to the pits and complains of a serious lack of grip.

Liam Lawson is annoyed on the Racing Bulls team radio. Who is he frustrated with? The Mercedes of George Russell, who was on a push lap and ruined his attempt.

Meanwhile, Charles Leclerc is having wing mirror troubles.

Better news in the grandstands, though, as a Mercedes and Ferrari fan kiss for the cameras. No rivalry here.

Oscar Piastri is winning the thumbs vote to take pole position today. Head down here and let us know who you're backing this afternoon.

But... hit the up thumb on this entry if you think Max Verstappen can pull off another shock pole like he did in Japan last weekend.

Image source, Getty Images

The McLaren cars have been split. Max Verstappen is back in the mix and pops his Red Bull 0.234 seconds behind leader Oscar Piastri with his latest soft tyre attempt.

Andrew Benson
BBC F1 correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri have definitely played the team game and are accepting in McLarens' way of approaching racing in not having a number one driver.

That is going to be tested to the absolute limit this year and it's going to be really interesting to see whether the team can keep that harmony and whether the drivers continue with that approach.

George Russell is on the medium tyre and preparing for a first flying lap in Bahrain. He reaches Turn One and... locks up. Have another go, George.

The Sauber of Nico Hulkenberg is safely pushed back by the marshals and the session can continue without any further delays.

The VSC has been deployed and the marshals are rushing over to help Nico Hulkenberg, but also to try and avoid a red-flag situation. The German is asking for help on the radio and his engineer replies he probably won't be able to get going again.

Yellow flagpublished at 14:01 British Summer Time 12 April

14:01 BST 12 April

Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg is off the track, saying the car went into anti-stall by itself.

1. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) - 1:33.324

2. Lando Norris (McLaren) +0.472

3. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) +0.913

4. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) +0.974

5. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +1.211

Red Bull have called Max Verstappen back to the garage for a little tinker with the car. The Dutchman hasn't put down a time yet in this final practice session; neither has Liam Lawson and Isack Hadjar for Racing Bulls and George Russell and Kimi Antonelli at Mercedes.

The fight for pole at the moment looks to be between the two papaya drivers.

If you were to put your 50p on someone, who will it be?

Left thumb for Lando.

Right thumb for Oscar.

Marc Priestley
Former F1 mechanic on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

It's really difficult because this is the last time you're in the car before it really matters in qualifying and this is your last feeling of what your car is like, you take whatever confidence level you have from this session.

Things could feel completely different without touching the car later on.

The two Mercedes drivers are still in the garage - George Russell wearing his giant silver coat. Fernando Alonso goes second behind Lando Norris on his soft flyer in the Aston Martin but here comes Oscar Piastri, the Australian knocking both his team-mate and the Spaniard down the order. Piastri soft time is over four-tenths faster than Lando Norris' marker.

Time to beat is a 1:33.324.

The wind is causing a few issues for drivers as they gather up the last drops of data before qualifying. A radio message from four-time world champion Max Verstappen flags everything is a bit rubbish with his Red Bull, as rival Lando Norris goes quickest on the softs with a 1:33.796.

Image source, Getty Images

It's warm in Bahrain- very warm. One of the drivers during the Formula 3 race earlier was on the team radio to say he desperately needed a drink water because the temperatures were so high in the cockpit.

The conditions won't sizzle quite as much for qualifying and the race, which both take place when the sun has set. But the FIA's forecast says the air temperature for the pole fight will be around 30C, with track temperature between 32C and 33C.