Bahrain testing: Who set the fastest times in pre-season?

Charles Leclerc, Pierre Gasly, Esteban Ocon, Carlos Sainz, Kevin Magnussen, Sergio Pérez, Max Verstappen… All have set the fastest time at least once during one of their sessions. But over the course of the three days, others have proven to be even faster.

As a leader, Dutchman Max Verstappen, the world champion, took the best time of the three days on Saturday afternoon. Better conditions and C5 tires helped him greatly. Almost a second and a half behind, we find his teammate Sergio Pérez. The Mexican was also very productive on the track with C4 tires. While these results confirm the good form of Red Bull, the author of the second best lap time was slightly more unpredictable.

Among the fastest in Bahrain, Haas is at the top of the standings. Returning to the American team after a year’s absence, Danish driver Kevin Magnussen was quick on Friday, but the second driver of the team, Mick Schumacher, was even faster during an additional session granted to Haas on Saturday evening.

Not surprisingly, a Ferrari is placed in the top 3, namely that of Charles Leclerc. Particularly effective on the Sakhir track, the Monegasque driver has consistently been at the forefront. His teammate Carlos Sainz is a bit further down in the timing sheet rankings, just over a second behind Leclerc.

On the side of Alpine, the drivers did quite well. While Fernando Alonso achieved the fourth best time of these three days, Esteban Ocon is slightly slower, two and a half seconds behind the leader. Both Ocon and Alonso set their best time on C4 tires, which are harder than Verstappen’s.

However, Mercedes encountered some difficulties. At least, according to Lewis Hamilton and the team engineers. While the newcomer at the Silver Arrows, George Russell, seems to have done very well, it is not the case (apparently) for the seven-time world champion. Russell secures the fifth best time over the three days, while Hamilton settles for sixteenth. Is it a bluff from the 2021 vice champion? The answer will undoubtedly be revealed this weekend.

At the controls of the Alfa Romeo, Valtteri Bottas, former Mercedes driver, completes this ranking thanks to the C3 tires. As for the rookie on the grid this season, Guanyu Zhou, he finishes in a respectable fourteenth place on C4 tires.

At AlphaTauri, even though Pierre Gasly set the fastest lap last Thursday, it was indeed his teammate Yuki Tsunoda who was the fastest in the team, with a difference of just under one second and a different tire choice: C5 for Tsunoda and C4 for the French driver.

Very close to AlphaTauri, Lando Norris managed to reach the ninth position on the timesheet with C3 tires. Alone on track for these three days, the British driver had to face some setbacks, including a very limited number of laps. But McLaren has not said its last word and will see its second driver, Daniel Ricciardo, racing in the Grand Prix this Sunday.

Sebastian Vettel appears in twelfth place on this timesheet. The one who has shown fierce support for Ukraine has just beenabsent from the season opener due to Coronavirus. His teammate at Aston Martin, Lance Stroll, is currently in fourteenth place, just two tenths behind the German.

Ultimo, Williams went through ups and downs during these trials. On one hand, Alexander Albon seized his chance to return to F1 by challenging the fastest drivers last Thursday, but still had to settle for the eighteenth best time. On the other hand, Nicholas Latifi was involved in a spectacular accident on Friday morning, as the FW44 caught fire. Indeed, his front wheels locked up at the treacherous turn 10, causing a fire in the rear brakes.

The best times from the three combined days: