April 2, 2016 – Ferrari sprung a surprise by leading the way in the third and final free practice session for the 2016 Bahrain Grand Prix, with Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen first and second respectively ahead of the two Mercedes drivers.
| Pos | Driver | Car | Time | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 1m31.683s | – | 22 |
| 2 | Kimi Raikkonen | Ferrari | 1m31.723s | 0.040s | 13 |
| 3 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 1m32.104s | 0.421s | 18 |
| 4 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1m32.160s | 0.477s | 14 |
| 5 | Valtteri Bottas | Williams/Mercedes | 1m32.675s | 0.992s | 18 |
| 6 | Romain Grosjean | Haas/Ferrari | 1m33.082s | 1.399s | 14 |
| 7 | Daniil Kvyat | Red Bull/TAG Heuer | 1m33.113s | 1.430s | 10 |
| 8 | Esteban Gutierrez | Haas/Ferrari | 1m33.337s | 1.654s | 14 |
| 9 | Felipe Massa | Williams/Mercedes | 1m33.363s | 1.680s | 18 |
| 10 | Daniel Ricciardo | Red Bull/TAG Heuer | 1m33.519s | 1.836s | 20 |
| 11 | Marcus Ericsson | Sauber/Ferrari | 1m33.569s | 1.886s | 16 |
| 12 | Kevin Magnussen | Renault | 1m33.617s | 1.934s | 9 |
| 13 | Jenson Button | McLaren/Honda | 1m33.704s | 2.021s | 12 |
| 14 | Stoffel Vandoorne | McLaren/Honda | 1m33.744s | 2.061s | 11 |
| 15 | Max Verstappen | Toro Rosso/Ferrari | 1m33.778s | 2.095s | 20 |
| 16 | Carlos Sainz | Toro Rosso/Ferrari | 1m34.003s | 2.320s | 20 |
| 17 | Felipe Nasr | Sauber/Ferrari | 1m34.013s | 2.330s | 15 |
| 18 | Nico Hulkenberg | Force India/Mercedes | 1m34.128s | 2.445s | 16 |
| 19 | Sergio Perez | Force India/Mercedes | 1m34.281s | 2.598s | 15 |
| 20 | Jolyon Palmer | Renault | 1m34.424s | 2.741s | 9 |
| 21 | Rio Haryanto | Manor/Mercedes | 1m35.546s | 3.863s | 15 |
| 22 | Pascal Wehrlein | Manor/Mercedes | 1m35.724s | 4.041s | 16 |
