Hamilton sidelined as Verstappen skips session on final day in Bahrain

The final day of the pre-season testing at the Bahrain International Circuit is upon us. Which drivers will be hitting the track today as the action from Sakhir draws to a close?

As with previous days of testing, teams are free to run a single driver for the entire day – as Red Bull Racing and Scuderia Ferrari opted to do on Day 2 – or rotate their line-up between sessions, as both McLaren and Mercedes did.

The day’s schedule follows a similar format, with track action kicking off at 8 am and concluding at 5 pm CET. Each day is divided into two four-hour sessions, separated by a one-hour lunch break.

Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton - Photo: Race Pictures

Hamilton to sit out testing, Verstappen to miss morning session

Lewis Hamilton will miss the entirety of today’s testing, with team-mate Charles Leclerc set to solely pilot the Ferrari SF-26 challenger for the full day.

Red Bull Racing will also have Isack Hadjar back in action for the morning session, with Max Verstappen returning for the afternoon running in Sakhir.

McLaren continues its split strategy, this time with Oscar Piastri kicking off the day’s running and Lando Norris joining the action in the afternoon. Mercedes will follow a similar path, with Kimi Antonelli behind the wheel in the early session and George Russell taking over driving duties for the second session of the day.

Aston Martin will have Lance Stroll as their sole driver today – a similar approach that Williams and Alpine have opted for with Carlos Sainz and Pierre Gasly, respectively.

See the full list of participating drivers below.

Follow GPblog's live coverage of the action from Bahrain here

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