Red Bull’s Max Verstappen set the pace on the final day of the preseason test, just ahead of AlphaTauri rookie Yuki Tsunoda, who secured a one-two with Honda at the top of the grid in Bahrain.
Tsunoda put a series of flying laps on softest C5 tires late in the session, and when Verstappen bolted on C4s, the two undertook a dazzling time attack under the lights. But it was Verstappen who came out on top with a time of 1m28,960s, Tsunoda down just 0.093s. Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Perez was on the C4 tires that morning and finished sixth to complete an encouraging Test for Red Bull.
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The third fastest was Carlos Sainz, who had a short break due to a hydraulic problem, but his name was a total of 79 laps, appearing late in the session. His Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc finished second this morning and an overall tenth place on medium connections.
At the very end of the session, Sainz had a dramatic but peculiar altercation with Kimfa Raikkonen of Alfa Romeo, while the two fell short at the moment of death and left the track.
World champion Lewis Hamilton lost precious time after being confined to the garage for the first hour of the afternoon, and he only got up when the sun started to set. The Brit later used the softest mix to improve to fifth overall, behind Raikkonen – who completed nearly 165 laps to lead the kilometers. However, Hamilton found it difficult to tie fast sectors together in his last qualifying speed runs, and even in his last few laps to turn in an unstable W12 car.
Hamilton’s Silver Arrows teammate, Valtteri Bottas, finished the seventh fastest this morning, finishing 16th overall, with more than 80 laps completed, though he had been remarkably underrated throughout his career. He complained on Day 2 about a ‘funny’ and ‘unforgiving’ rear end to his car, but said the issues seemed similar on the third day. expected from the reigning champions.
Williams’ George Russell managed a flying effort on C5 tires to finish sixth when he made his Test debut on Saunday in 2021, after Roy Nissany and Nicholas Latifi took the other two days of driving duties. Russell scored 160 laps on the third day because his team was Sunday for him.
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Lando Norris finished third fastest this morning – 11th overall – but Daniel Ricciardo darkened his time after 90 minutes of afternoon running and finished seventh on C4 tires. The pair completed more than 110 laps in the day in a solid performance for McLaren.
Alpine’s Fernando Alonso had earlier hinted that the team would not complete the qualifying sims on Sunday and finished ninth fastest on C4 tires as Esteban Ocon finished 13th overall with mediums. Both drivers scored more than 60 laps each, ensuring a healthy total for Alpine.
And although Tsunoda was on the timing for the second time when the day ended, his teammate Pierre Gasly finished the 12th fastest after taking the morning service for the team. Gasly’s best lap, however, was on the slower C3 tires.
Nikita Mazepin of Haas clocked more than 60 laps that night and finished 14th on the C4 tires, half a second faster than teammate Mick Schumacher – who chased confidence after finishing his Test period at lunch, saying that he would dare the first race to go for the first race. .
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Finally, Aston Martin still had problems today, which Sebastian Vettel missed to run through under the lights. He completed a decent 56 laps, but the problem – apparently a loss of pressure on the turbo boost – prevented Vettel from participating in the final 90 minutes of the session. He finished 17th in the tempo charts, his teammate Lance Stroll last and 18th (80 laps) with both on medium tires for their fastest runs.
Red Bull’s pace created a lot of intrigue before the start of the season, and even Hamilton conceded that Mercedes had a fight on hand as Verstappen and Perez showed strong tests. But who is really the fastest? Everything will be announced on March 28 with the first Grand Prix of the season – which will also be held here in Bahrain.