SAKHIR, Bahrain -- They say it's always in the last place you look, and after Ferrari's pace went missing in Australia, it made a very obvious return during Friday practice in Bahrain. Sebastian Vettel and teammate Charles Leclerc were split by 0.035s at the top of the timesheets and held a significant 0.6s advantage over Lewis Hamilton's Mercedes in third place.
Friday's lap times were more in line with expectations from pre-season testing and add weight to the theory that Mercedes' dominance in Australia was something of an anomaly. They also suggest Ferrari has found and addressed the problem that held it back so much in Melbourne.