Drivers have had to spend most of pre-season testing getting to know the cars and a unanimous verdict is that following is a lot easier.
Despite losing some time, former Red Bull driver Alex Albon believes that Williams ticked all the boxes in testing.
Russell, who has been a victim of porpoising over the three days, has acknowledged that the performance from the W13 simply has not been there.
Hamilton denied claims that Mercedes were sandbagging at the Sakhir track, despite them finishing behind Ferrari and Red Bull.
Despite this, the Scuderia and both of its drivers had another productive day, logging a total of 114 laps.
On Wednesday, the day before racing at the Bahrain International Circuit began, the McLaren driver felt ill and initially returned negative tests.
The Alfa Romeo F1 team, which will be led by Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu, continued its expansion towards decentralised finance.
In second place was former Red Bull and current Williams driver Alex Albon, who was half a second behind the Monegasque.
Alfa Romeo are the only side with an all-new driver line-up this season, featuring Valtteri Bottas and Guanyu Zhou.
Yuki Tsunoda was in Formula 2 when F1's feeder series trialled the 18-inch Pirelli tyres for the first time in 2020.