George Russell a fini en tête des essais libres du vendredi à Bahreïn. Ce dernier remplace Lewis Hamilton positif à la Covid-19. Max Verstappen a fait le 2e temps et Sergio Perez est 3e. Estaban Ocon, Alexander Albon, Daniil Kvyat, Lance Stroll, Daniel Ricciardo, Pierre Gasly et Carlos Sainz sont dans le top 10.
| Pos | No | Pilote | Équipe | Temps | Écart | Tours |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 63 | George Russell | Mercedes | 54.713 | 48 | |
| 2 | 33 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing Honda | 54.841 | +0.128s | 43 |
| 3 | 11 | Sergio Perez | Racing Point BWT Mercedes | 54.866 | +0.153s | 52 |
| 4 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | Renault | 54.940 | +0.227s | 50 |
| 5 | 23 | Alexander Albon | Red Bull Racing Honda | 55.036 | +0.323s | 42 |
| 6 | 26 | Daniil Kvyat | AlphaTauri Honda | 55.068 | +0.355s | 58 |
| 7 | 18 | Lance Stroll | Racing Point BWT Mercedes | 55.104 | +0.391s | 44 |
| 8 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | Renault | 55.124 | +0.411s | 47 |
| 9 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | AlphaTauri Honda | 55.133 | +0.420s | 48 |
| 10 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | McLaren Renault | 55.258 | +0.545s | 39 |
| 11 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | 55.321 | +0.608s | 52 |
| 12 | 7 | Kimi Räikkönen | Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari | 55.484 | +0.771s | 54 |
| 13 | 99 | Antonio Giovinazzi | Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari | 55.533 | +0.820s | 57 |
| 14 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas Ferrari | 55.738 | +1.025s | 49 |
| 15 | 6 | Nicholas Latifi | Williams Mercedes | 55.784 | +1.071s | 52 |
| 16 | 5 | Sebastian Vettel | Ferrari | 55.830 | +1.117s | 43 |
| 17 | 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren Renault | 56.031 | +1.318s | 14 |
| 18 | 51 | Pietro Fittipaldi | Haas Ferrari | 56.110 | +1.397s | 56 |
| 19 | 89 | Jack Aitken | Williams Mercedes | 56.260 | +1.547s | 58 |
| 20 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 2 |