Gabriel Bortoleto is fighting his Sauber every step of the way on his latest lap. The Brazilian is a soft runner but has a moment at Turn Eight and then again across the gravel around Turn 11. He's eighth on the leaderboard with a time in the 1:38s.

Marc Priestley
Former F1 mechanic on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

Racing Bulls' car is more drivable, it maybe has a larger performance window and therefore the drivers are more easily able to exploit its performance at different race tracks.

Lewis Hamilton, winner of the first sprint race in China a couple of weeks ago, jumps above the two Haas drivers on a set of soft tyres with a 1:34.845. His team-mate Charles Leclerc is fitted with the same red rubber but his lap time is 0.057 seconds off the pace of the seven-time world champion's.

The Alpine boys are out now, medium tyres bolted on, and have banked times in the 1:35s to go third for Pierre Gasly and fourth for Aussie Jack Doohan.

Marc Priestley
Former F1 mechanic on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

If you overheat your tyres early in the lap it compromises you for the rest of the entire circuit.

The challenge is to not take too much out of the tyres early on until you save enough for the end of the lap, but if you overdo that you lose time on the table.

Image source, Getty Images

Pirelli have selected the hardest compounds in the range for this weekend's Bahrain Grand Prix - the same pick as last time out in Japan.

The hot temperatures and rough track in Sakhir will present a different test compared to that of Suzuka, however, so tyre management is even higher on the agenda for round four.

Drivers will get two sets of the C1 hard tyre (white), three sets of the C2 medium tyre (yellow) and eight sets of the C3 soft tyre (red). The green intermediates and blue wets can probably have the weekend off.

First celeb spot of the weekend: Former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard and his little lad Lio are here in Bahrain with McLaren.

Esteban Ocon, on his hard tyres, has put a time on the board along with his Haas team-mate Ollie Bearman. Frenchman Ocon says he has a lot of bouncing in Turn 12, while Brit Bearman can't believe how bad the grip levels are compared to the later sessions.

The Haas boys have opted to gather some more data on the hard compound, while Lewis Hamilton in his scarlet Ferrari is fitted with a set of the red soft tyres. It's a leisurely opening to Saturday in Bahrain.

The TV cameras pick up the fans in the crowd and one spots themselves on the big screens and waves. Have you have spotted yourself at an event? Or been on the telly?

Yeah, there's no much going on at the moment...

Andrew Benson
BBC F1 correspondent

These daylight sessions in Bahrain are not that useful for the teams because it's pretty hot.

Once the sun goes down the track temperature drops significantly and qualifying and the race happen at twilight into dark.

BBC Sport's Harry Benjamin looks ahead to the Bahrain Grand Prix and the five things to look out for over the race weekend.

No, would be the answer. Lando Norris is chatting to his pit wall, race suit rolled down, Williams are working away in the garage. It's a lazy start to this final run out.

Ollie Bearman, meanwhile, does head out in the Haas for a trip around the circuit on a set of hard tyres.

Final practice is green. Does anyone want to go out early?

Andrew Benson
BBC F1 correspondent

McLaren's advantage on the race-simulation runs appeared as large as on a single lap.

Corrected for fuel load and engine mode, Lando Norris was just over 0.2secs a lap on average ahead of George Russell, with Lewis Hamilton a similar margin further back and just ahead of Max Verstappen.

Oscar Piastri and Charles Leclerc did their long runs on a different tyre compound so their times cannot be compared.

Over at Ferrari, the Italian team have brought a decent upgrade package to round four which they hope will bring them closer to the fight podiums and, more importantly, race wins.

Both Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton said the updated floor was performing as expected but Leclerc added there is still performance to be found in order to maximise the car's full potential.

Image source, Getty Images

Is it really advantage McLaren, though? Lando Norris doesn't think so.

Despite the likes of Charles Leclerc saying the team were "on another planet for now" and George Russell commenting they were "a big step ahead", Norris played down any thoughts McLaren will run away with the weekend, highlighting the Friday unknowns such as engine modes and fuel loads. With that in mind, Norris thinks they're no quicker than the Mercedes, and probably in the same position.

Russell, however, said: "They are a long way ahead in the middle sector, where the tyres are overheating."

Image source, Getty Images

On a scorching Friday in the desert, McLaren topped both first and second practice at the Bahrain circuit, with Lando Norris quickest in the opening session and team-mate Oscar Piastri fastest in the second hour. Australian Piastri led Norris to a team one-two by 0.154 seconds, the Mercedes of George Russell finishing third behind the papaya pair.

Rookie Isack Hadjar was the quickest car in the Red Bull family, putting his Racing Bulls sixth on the timesheets ahead of Max Verstappen in seventh.

Image source, Getty Images

Hello, folks. Saturday afternoon Formula 1 action is back for us to enjoy.

Yesterday's practice sessions were largely uneventful at the Bahrain International Circuit, so there aren't any majors stories to report after the opening day of track action.

Third practice gets under way at 13:30 BST.

Qualifying goes green at 17:00 BST.

Commentary of third practice is online-only today, so you'll need to click the listen 'live tab' at the top of this page to tune in, or you can ask BBC Sounds to play Bahrain Grand Prix practice three via most smart speakers.

For qualifying, you can listen on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra and BBC Sounds, plus the two options above.

Image source, Getty Images

The fight for pole position has become the main attraction in Formula 1 in recent times, with three different drivers taking the front-row spot so far this season.

World champion Max Verstappen stunned his own Red Bull team last weekend by beating Lando Norris to the best seat in the house at the Japanese Grand Prix. But under the lights in Bahrain, McLaren have been tipped by many to succeed. If they do, which driver will it be?

First, though, let's dot the i's and cross the t's with a final practice session in the heat...