SAKHIR, Bahrain – Defending world champion Max Verstappen sent a signal of intent to his rivals on the final day of pre-season testing by setting the fastest lap time of the week by more than half a year. second.
Red Bull brought a significant upgrade to its RB18 car during its final day of testing on Saturday, and in the evening Verstappen began to explore its potential.
As the sun went down on the Bahrain International Circuit, the Dutchman ramped up his pace gradually as he cycled through Pirelli’s softest tire compounds, reducing his lap time to 1: 31,720 on the C5 track under the headlights.
Verstappen’s best attempt was 0.695 seconds faster than any other driver in the test, with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc coming closest with a time of 1:32,415 on the slightly stiffer C4 compound tyres.
Test times are not always a real indicator of performance ahead of a new Formula 1 season, but at this stage, Red Bull and Ferrari are clear contenders for round one victory. opens in Bahrain next weekend.
The defending champions of the Mercedes constructors went slow against their rivals throughout the test, with Lewis Hamilton and his new teammate George Russell struggle to extract the full performance Latest upgrade of the group.
Russell set up the team’s fastest test lap on Saturday night, but it was 1,039 seconds away from Verstappen using the same tire compound. It is also slower than Alpine’s Fernando Alonso, who sets the third fastest time, 0.978 seconds to Verstappen, using the C4 compound.
Former Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas was fifth fastest, but his Alfa Romeo came to a halt on the side of the track shortly after he sealed 1:32,285 on C3 synthetic tyres. Alfa Romeo had a tough first test in Spain with many reliability issues, but Bottas’ time in a relatively difficult complex has provided some cause for hope. The end of the second test was much more promising for the team.
Eighteen of F1’s 20 drivers took part on the final day of testing, minus two teams swapping their drivers for the day. The only drivers to miss are Alpine’s Esteban Ocon, who completed a full day of testing on Friday, and McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo, who tested positive for Covid-19 earlier in the week and is in quarantine at your hotel until next weekend’s race.
At the time of writing, Mick Schumacher is still on his way to Haas, taking advantage of an extended trial period for the US team. Delays in shipping Haas’ cargo to Bahrain resulted in the team missing Thursday morning practice, so all ten teams agreed that there would be an extra hour at the end of Friday’s run plus an hour before the start of Saturday. test and two more hours after the checkered flag.
Schumacher was eighth fastest when the test ended for the other nine teams.
Fastest lap:
(Tire compound in brackets)
1. Verstappen – Red Bull – 1: 31,720 (C5) – 53 laps
2. Leclerc – Ferrari – 1: 32,415 (C4) – 51 laps
3. Alonso – Alpine – 1: 32,698 (C4) – 122 laps
4. Russell – Mercedes – 1: 32,759 (C5) – 71 laps
5. Bottas – Alfa Romeo – 1: 32,985 (C3) – 68 rounds
6. Tsunoda – AlphaTauri – 1: 33,002 (C5) – 57 rounds
7. Perez – Red Bull – 1: 33.105 (C4) – 43 rounds
8. Schumacher – Haas – 1: 33.151 (C3) – 57 rounds
9. Norris – McLaren – 1: 33,191 (C3) – 90 laps
10. Vettel – Aston Martin – 1: 33,821 (C4) – 81 laps
11. Zhou – Alfa Romeo – 1: 33.959 (C4) – 82 rounds
12. Gasly – AlphaTauri – 1: 34,865 (C4) – 91 rounds
13. Sainz – Ferrari – 1: 34,905 (C5) – 68 laps
14. Albon – Williams – 1: 35,171 (C3) – 18 laps
15. Latifi – Williams – 1: 35,634 (C3) – 124 rounds
16. Stroll – Aston Martin – 1: 36,029 (C3) – 53 laps
17. Hamilton – Mercedes – 1: 36.217 (C5) – 78 laps
18. Magnussen – Haas – 1: 38.616 (C2) – 38 rounds
