Charles Leclerc kept Ferrari top of the timesheets for the second day running, even if champions Red Bull still looked the team to beat, as Formula One wrapped up pre-season testing in Bahrain on Friday.
Leclerc set the final day's best lap of one minute and 30.322 seconds on the fastest C5 tyres with Mercedes' George Russell a mere 0.046 slower on the C4 tyres.
Sauber's Guanyu Zhou was third fastest, also on the C4s, with Red Bull's triple champion Max Verstappen fourth and 0.433 off the pace.
The Dutch driver, who won a record 19 races last year, was using the slower C3 tyres that will be used in next week's season-opener at Sakhir, however.
The final day of running with the new cars was halted by a dislodged drain cover at Turn 11 -- the second such incident in two days.
The track action resumed after repairs with the usual lunch break dropped and the session running through to the evening under floodlights.
Leclerc's car suffered some floor damage in Thursday's incident and Friday's stoppage was triggered by Red Bull's Sergio Perez.
Ferrari's Carlos Sainz had been fastest before the suspension, with the Spaniard also topping the timesheets on Thursday with the best time of testing as a whole -- a 1:29.921 effort on C4 tyres.
Despite Ferrari showing good pace, and much improved tyre wear compared to last year, Red Bull continued to impress rivals with their new RB20 car.
"I think Red Bull clearly are out in the distance," said Mercedes' seven-times world champion Lewis Hamilton, with others agreeing.
The record 24-race season starts in Bahrain next week, with practice on Thursday and the grand prix on Saturday as Formula One squeezes in the first two rounds in the Middle East before the start of Ramadan.
Published 23 February 2024, 19:29 IST