Nico Rosberg looks best prepared to secure his second win of the season and indeed his career after ending the final practice session quickest.
The Mercedes driver managed a lap over a tenth quicker than Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel. The current champions look to be on a charge as the only car able to challenge the Mercedes for the win in Bahrain with Mark Webber coming in third.
Lewis Hamilton finished fourth fastest, but he couldn’t get within half a second of Rosberg who had the legs on his team-mate Michael Schumacher too, who finished fifth ahead of Jenson Button, Kimi Raikkonen and Daniel Ricciardo.
Ferrari looks as though they may struggle to reach Q3, with Fernando Alonso narrowly finishing in the top ten ahead of the Williams of Pastor Maldonado – who will start five places lower than he qualifies after changing his gearbox.
The majority of cars worked on tyre wear during the 60-minute session as the abrasive track surface and searing temperatures are cause for concern.
2012 Bahrain GP FP3 Results:
| # | Driver | Team | Time | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01. | N. Rosberg | Mercedes | 1:33.254 | 14 | |
| 02. | S. Vettel | Red Bull | 1:33.401 | +0.147 | 14 |
| 03. | M. Webber | Red Bull | 1:33.663 | +0.409 | 15 |
| 04. | L. Hamilton | McLaren | 1:33.782 | +0.528 | 16 |
| 05. | M. Schumacher | Mercedes | 1:33.796 | +0.542 | 16 |
| 06. | J. Button | McLaren | 1:33.899 | +0.645 | 14 |
| 07. | K. Raikkonen | Lotus | 1:33.976 | +0.722 | 14 |
| 08. | D. Ricciardo | Toro Rosso | 1:34.197 | +0.943 | 14 |
| 09. | R. Grosjean | Lotus | 1:34.401 | +1.147 | 16 |
| 10. | F. Alonso | Ferrari | 1:34.895 | +1.641 | 11 |
| 11. | P. Maldonado | Williams | 1:34.918 | +1.664 | 12 |
| 12. | J. Vergne | Toro Rosso | 1:34.977 | +1.723 | 12 |
| 13. | S. Perez | Sauber | 1:35.067 | +1.813 | 17 |
| 14. | K. Kobayashi | Sauber | 1:35.128 | +1.874 | 14 |
| 15. | P. di Resta | Force India | 1:35.336 | +2.082 | 22 |
| 16. | F. Massa | Ferrari | 1:35.536 | +2.282 | 15 |
| 17. | B. Senna | Williams | 1:35.623 | +2.369 | 16 |
| 18. | H. Kovalainen | Caterham | 1:35.694 | +2.440 | 19 |
| 19. | N. Hulkenberg | Force India | 1:35.773 | +2.519 | 21 |
| 20. | V. Petrov | Caterham | 1:36.532 | +3.278 | 17 |
| 21. | C. Pic | Marussia | 1:37.267 | +4.013 | 18 |
| 22. | T. Glock | Marussia | 1:37.654 | +4.400 | 18 |
| 23. | P. de la Rosa | HRT | 1:38.973 | +5.719 | 11 |
| 24. | N. Karthikeyan | HRT | 1:39.221 | +5.967 | 9 |
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