5 things we learned on the last day of the pre-season test in Bahrain

And almost in the blink of an eye, the test for the Formula 1 season in 2021 is done and dusted off. All ten teams had a total of 24 hours of track time to get their new machines in a fighting pace shape for the upcoming season. There were some impressive miles on day three, but for others it was more of a struggle. Here are some things we learned when the curtain fell on another preseason …

1. Red Bull looks like they could be a real threat to Mercedes

When Max Verstappen turned up in Bahrain on the first day, you could have been forgiven for thinking ‘here we go again’, so often Red Bull struggled with the stability of their car in the pre-season test.

But while Verstappen was at the top of the charts the last day, on a day when he and his teammate, Sergio Perez, completed almost the same programs with great success, the turn felt like a lifetime ago.

The atmosphere in that team is exciting, with the feeling that they might have a package that could put them in a position to really take the fight to world champion Mercedes.

The Honda powerplant, which of course continues for a year, also looks good, with promising signs of a good step in terms of performance.

2. Hamilton and Mercedes are still not comfortable

It was a modest improvement in Mercedes’ prosperity on the third and final day of Tests, but the W12 still looked like a handful on the road, especially when Lewis Hamilton was behind the wheel while the Briton was hit by a tailwind. caught out and turned further. the last afternoon.

When Hamilton clung to the softer tires, he could not do work, and Mercedes seemed to be scratching their heads over the lack of pace. Our data show that they are about 0.56 sec. Slower than Red Bull opponents by one round (as you can see in the table below). “The lower fuel economy was a more confusing picture, we did not earn enough and we have to look at our approach because there were too many cars that were in our lead today,” says Andrew Shovlin, director of Mercedes Trackside Engineering.

READ MORE: ‘We just are not fast enough’ – Hamilton admits Mercedes has ‘a lot of work to do’ before the first race

“We have had problems with the pace in the winter test over the last few years and have managed to make progress before the first race, but our work can be cut out this time.”

Hamilton’s teammate Valtteri Bottas felt better and spoke of ‘confident and comfortable’ with the W12 after having enough time in the car for short and long runs. This will boost Mercedes’ mood, but there is definitely a feeling that the Silver Arrows are going on the back foot after the opening race in Bahrain.

READ MORE: Bottas says the title will still win in 2021 despite the ‘most challenging’ pre-season still with Mercedes

3. Vettel is still uplifted despite a tough test for Aston Martin

Since Sebastian Vettel’s session ended early, with the loss of pressure on the turbo, and he missed the chance to run a soft tire, the German was in a surprisingly good condition when we spoke.

Vettel’s last score for the three days was 117, one more than seven times world champion Hamilton, but half that of mileage rider Pierre Gasly – but although he admits he would have liked more laps, his early feeling with the car well, and his experienced head focuses on staying calm, especially since he sees a lot of potential in the car.

READ MORE: Vetel positive about ‘really’ productive ‘test despite Aston Martin reliability issues

“We did not do much of those things, but that’s what it is, and we still have more, given the hiccups we had, than we expected, which is due to the dedication of the guys. , ”Said Vettel.

‘They were working for three days to fix the car as quickly as possible to get the maximum time. It [the pecking order] it looks like it’s very tight, so I hope we’ll be in the mix and then we’ll have fun. ”

4. Ferrari looks better than last year

There was good news for Ferrari’s faithful tifosi on Sunday when school principal Mattia Binotto said the team’s straight line speed was no longer a disadvantage. the winter that they had made strong progress with their power unit.

This in itself is a relief given this time last year, and they were disappointed to see that the car’s performance was even worse than expected.

And while Carlos Sainz spent some time in the garage on Sunday with a hydraulic issue, the Spaniard kept coming back to do a few runs, which took him to third place in the standings, 0.651s from the pace on the C4 Pirelli band. (the second softest of the series).

And between him and teammate Charles Leclerc, they ran more than 2100km – which included renimulations, which looked pretty strong – and now they have the next two weeks to get the data back to make adjustments before the first race of the season.

LOOK: ‘Never judge anything after tests before the season’, says Charles Leclerc

5. High kilometers for the third and last day of the test

Anyone who thinks Kimi Raikkonen is losing his love for Formula 1 has been proven wrong again on Sunday, as the 41-year-old Finn recorded a remarkable 166 laps of the Bahrain International track, which is just five short, not one. two but three full Bahrain Grand Prix distances.

That put his Alfa Romeo team in second place on the mileage lists, just one shy away from an impressive AlphaTauri, and nearly a Grand Prix distance without the pace-setters Red Bull.

There were certainly niggles around, with different things – like hydraulic problems or engine problems, that caused teams headaches and cost lives, on a day when conditions were at their best.

But everyone passes more than a century laps each, which is a very encouraging endeavor when it comes to the reliability side of things, especially with the first race of the season, at the same venue in Bahrain, just a few weeks away.

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