The Latest Breaking News from Fernando Alonso

In an extremely tight Q3 field, Alonso's 1m29.542s yielded him sixth on Saturday's grid.

The reigning champion had taken a back seat during the opening two stages of qualifying but, when it came down to Q3, he set a demanding benchmark of a 1m29.421s - and then beat his own effort amid the final runs to settle on a 1m29.179s.

So, it begins. Formula 1's 2024 season has now officially kicked off after the opening two free practice sessions in Bahrain, albeit in an atypical Thursday slot, the opening two of races in the Middle East have been shuffled back by a day each to ensure that the F1 rounds…

In Thursday evening's second free practice session, which is held in similar conditions to qualifying and the race, Lewis Hamilton led a Mercedes 1-2 ahead of Russell, with Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso in third.

In Thursday evening's second free practice session, which is held in similar conditions to qualifying and the race, Lewis Hamilton led a Mercedes 1-2 ahead of Russell, with Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso in third.

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RB’s Daniel Ricciardo was quickest in Free Practice 1, while Hamilton paced FP2 with a fastest time of the day of 1m30.374s.

The Briton set the early benchmark in the session on soft tyres and subsequently cranked up the dial with a 1m30.374s to put distance between himself and the rest of the field.

Hamilton set the early benchmark in the session on soft tyres and subsequently cranked up the dial with a 1m30.374s to put distance between himself and the rest of the field.