Bahrain Testing: Mercedes, AlphaTauri, and Ferrari the most productive on the track

The Barcelona and Sakhir tracks being relatively different, the teams were able to test the reactions of their cars on the much bumpier and windier circuit in Bahrain.

If they were not the fastest in Bahrain, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell were the most productive on the track. With 385 laps completed on the Sakhir circuit, they therefore rank ahead of AlphaTauri and the Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz. In total, George Russell will have completed 196 laps while Lewis Hamilton will have done 187.

In Bahrain, the little sister of Red Bull was also very productive over the three days, with 371 laps completed by both drivers. But between Pierre Gasly and Yuki Tsunoda, it’s the Frenchman who drove the longest, with almost 20 laps more to his name and a battle with Lewis Hamilton. In total, AlphaTauri completed 679 laps during these winter tests (Barcelona and Bahrain), one more than its big sister.

Nevertheless, throughout all the testing, the Scuderia remains the most effective with 788 completed laps between Bahrain and Barcelona, 10 laps more than the Silver Arrows team. Ferrari gives the impression of having regained a semblance of its former form, but will it be able to confirm it in the first Grand Prix? That’s what some of our editors think.

The Alfa Romeo and Aston Martin drivers were good students at Sakhir, completing nearly 340 laps. However, the latest tests were much more useful for Valtteri Bottas and Guanyu Zhou, who had driven much less in Catalonia.

Red Bull ranks sixth in this ranking, as Sergio Pérez and Max Verstappen completed no less than 320 laps. In any case, this was enough for the world champion to set the fastest time in these Bahrain tests.

Despite its good ranking on the timesheet, Alpine only completed “only” 299 laps during this second round of testing. However, the drivers seem satisfied with the pink car, especially regarding the engine. And even though they admitted that there is still a lot of work to be done, they were able to observe some potential in the A522.

On the side of Williams, productivity is lower. Indeed, Nicholas Latifi suffered an accident at turn 10 of the Sakhir circuit, causing the FW44 to have a long pause and miss out on important running time. In total, Alexander Albon and Nicholas Latifi completed 605 laps during these winter tests, combining Bahrain and Barcelona.

It’s also not a celebration at Haas, as they missed the first session in Bahrain. Due to transportation delays, the American team couldn’t be ready in time, so the FIA granted them a few extra hours of testing over the three-day period. And it’s not just two, but three drivers who have taken the wheel of the VF-22. Reserve driver Pietro Fittipaldi kicked things off before being replaced by Kevin Magnussen, with the Danish driver taking Nikita Mazepin’s place.

Good last weekend, McLaren had a series of setbacks in Bahrain. Due to Daniel Ricciardo testing positive for Coronavirus, Lando Norris drove the MCL36 during these three days, completing a total of 200 laps. However, he encountered a new issue with the brakes of the McLaren. Although the team managed to receive the necessary parts for improvements, it was not enough to solve this technical problem.

Number of laps covered by each team in Bahrain:

Number of laps completed by each team during winter testing: