Day three of pre-season testing has come to a close, with Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen finishing in P2 for the day.
With Liam Lawson taking on the entirety of day two testing, it was the four-time World Champion in the RB21 for both sessions of the third and final day in Bahrain.
Verstappen completed 81 laps across both sessions, testing out a modified front nose and front wing configuration for the team, gaining valuable data and mileage behind the wheel of his 2025 challenger.
The 27-year-old completed the lowest number of laps in the morning session, 47, but was able to finish in P4 - 0.398 seconds behind pace setter Charles Leclerc of Ferrari.
The morning session was temporarily red flagged after a pane of glass from the starter's box shattered and fell onto the pit straight, requiring a clean-up operation and limiting drivers somewhat.
By the end of the day, however, Verstappen completed 81 laps and finished P2, 0.021 seconds behind Mercedes' George Russell with a fastest lap time of 1:29.566, which put him 0.084s above Williams' Alex Albon in P3.
The reigning World Drivers' Champion suffered an uncharacteristic spin at turn one towards the end of the day, shortly after Alpine's Esteban Ocon span out in the same spot on the track.
He recovered quickly and was able to bring his car back to the pitlane without any issues, getting in a further eight laps before time ran out on the session.
Day three concludes what has been an eventful testing in Bahrain, which saw uncommonly rainy weather, a power cut across the entire track, a smashed pane of glass and even a bus driving through the run-off area, which also brought out another red flag.
During that time, Red Bull ran the fewest laps of any team with just 304 completed laps - two behind Aston Martin and 154 behind the leaders Mercedes.
The opening race of the 2025 Formula One season gets underway at the Australian Grand Prix on 16th March, with Red Bull hoping it can get back on top in the Constructors' Championship while also looking to help Verstappen to a fifth-consecutive World Drivers' title.
