Formula One pre-season testing continued today at Bahrain International Circuit (BIC), with Lewis Hamilton setting the best lap time on the third day of running in Sakhir.

Scores of the kingdom’s motor racing fans watched from the stands on BIC’s first open day to the general public. The Mercedes ace did not disappoint his supporters as he continued to build on his team’s impressive pre-season form.

Hamilton registered a fastest lap of one minute 34.263 seconds around the 5.412-kilometre desert circuit. His time was the best so far of the Bahrain tests, quicker by 0.7 seconds than the fastest lap of McLaren’s Kevin Magnussen, who had topped the timesheet on day two with a 1:34.910 lap.

Hamilton finished the day with 67 laps completed in his F1 W05 car. His programme consisted of short runs on the softer tyre in the morning, followed by a race simulation which was interrupted due to a failure in the car.

“It was nice to be able to put together a good lap today because, generally speaking, there seems to be less grip available than last year,” Hamilton said.

“I’m looking forward to completing a race simulation next week as we didn’t quite get to finish it today.

“We’re trying to find any issues we can now to prevent them happening during a race situation.

“The car seems to be responding well to my style of driving and the power unit is looking promising, with all of the Mercedes-powered team completing good mileage.

“We won’t know where we are for definite until we get to Melbourne so we’re just continuing to focus on our run programmes, keep positive and look forward; the team has done a great job to get where we are today so we just need to keep that going.”

By earning first place, Hamilton ensured that a team using a Mercedes engine was atop the timesheet for each of the first three days of testing thus far. Three of today’s other runners in the top five were also Mercedes-powered, with McLaren second, Williams third and Force India fifth.

McLaren continued to perform well, this time with Jenson Button behind the wheel.

Button virtually mirrored Magnussen’s timing as he had a 0.713s gap from Hamilton today. He was the busiest driver of the day having run for 103 laps.

The rest of the field was much slower, setting times roughly three seconds behind or more.

Felipe Massa shared the day’s duties with Williams teammate Valtteri Bottas, who primarily worked on pit-stops and thus did not register any timed laps.

Massa’s best was 2.803s off of Hamilton’s pace and he completed 60 laps out on track.

Sauber’s Esteban Gutierrez followed in fourth 2.917s behind the leader with 96 laps of work, while Force India’s Sergio Perez was fifth 3.104s back.

Fan-favourite Kimi Raikkonen of Ferrari had a best lap 3.204s off the pace in his first day of testing in Bahrain. Raikkonen was out on track for just 44 laps and he experienced problems with his car.

Snag

Meanwhile, all four Renault-powered teams made were in the bottom five of the timesheet as their testing programme seemed to hit another snag after showing signs of life on the second day.

Daniil Kvyat in a Toro Rosso had the seventh-best lap 4.711s behind Hamilton.

Pastor Maldonado of Lotus, driving his first day, had a gap of 5.379s from the top. Daniel Ricciardo replacing World champion Sebastian Vettel in Red Bull’s title-defending RB10 car today was 6.518s behind first place, and Swede Marcus Ericsson of Caterham was 7.867s behind.

Red Bull’s car problems forced them to wrap up today’s testing earlier than scheduled.

Max Chilton of Marussia completed the order but registered just four laps for the day, facing problems with his car’s engine.

Testing continues tomorrow at BIC. It will be the fourth and final day of the first session of tests in Bahrain. After a few days’ break, session two will be held from Thursday to Sunday next week.

Tomorrow will be another open day for fans, who will be able to watch testing from 9am to 5pm.

Tickets cost BD5 per person. They can be purchased at the gate or at the BIC stands in Bahrain City Centre or Seef Mall, online at www.bahraingp.com or by calling the BIC Hotline on +973-17-450000.

Fans will be able to watch the testing from BIC’s Main Grandstand, which overlooks the Formula One pit lane, team garages and the circuit’s main straight.

The new Formula One season is set to kick off in Australia just two weeks after the second session of testing at BIC. The Formula One Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix is the third of 19 races this season, taking place April 4-5-6 in Sakhir.

Tickets for the Grand Prix are also now on sale.

DAY THREE TIMES

1 Lewis HAMILTON GBR Mercedes GP 1:34.263 67 laps

2 Jenson BUTTON GBR McLaren-Mercedes 1:34.976 103 laps

3 Felipe MASSA BRA Williams F1 Team 1:37.066 60 laps

4 Esteban GUTIERREZ MEX Sauber F1 Team 1:37.180 96 laps
5 Sergio PEREZ MEX Sahara Force India F1 Team 1:37.367 57 laps
6 Kimi RAIKKONEN FIN Scuderia Ferrari 1:37.467 44 laps
7 Daniil KVYAT RUS Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:38.974 57 laps
8 Pastor MALDONADO VEN Lotus F1 Team 1:39.642 26 laps
9 Daniel RICCIARDO AUS Infiniti Red Bull Racing 1:40.781 28 laps
10 Marcus ERICSSON SWE Caterham F1 Team 1:42.130 98 laps
11 Max CHILTON GBR Marussia F1 Team 1:46.672 4 laps
12 Valtteri BOTTAS FIN Williams F1 Team No time 55 laps