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

And in almost the blink of an eye, testing for the 2021 Formula 1 season has ended and ended. All 10 teams had a total of 24 hours of track time to put their new machines into a fight for the next season. There was an impressive mileage recorded on the third day, but for others it was more difficult. Here are some things we learned when the curtain fell in another preseason …

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

When Max Verstappen rode the first day in Bahrain, you could have been forgiven for thinking “here we go again”, so often Red Bull struggled with the stability of his car in the pre-season tests.

But as Verstappen topped the timesheet on the last day, on a day when he and his teammate Sergio Perez completed almost identical programs safely, that turnaround seemed like a lifetime ago.

The vibe within this team is thrilling, with the feeling that they may well have a package that can put them in a position to really take the fight to world champion Mercedes.

Honda’s power unit, anticipated for a year of course, also looks in great shape, with promising signs of a good step in terms of performance.

2. Hamilton and Mercedes are still not comfortable

This was a moderate improvement in Mercedes’ luck on the third and final day of testing, but the W12 still looked a little difficult on the track, especially when Lewis Hamilton was behind the wheel with the Brit being caught in a tailwind and spinning the final afternoon .

When Hamilton put on the softer tires, he was unable to find performance with Mercedes appearing to be scratching his head because of the lack of pace. Our data shows that they are about 0.56s slower than rivals Red Bull in one lap (as you can see in the chart below). “Working with less fuel was a more confusing image, we didn’t earn enough and we need to examine our approach, as many cars were ahead of us today,” said Mercedes Trackside engineering director Andrew Shovlin.

READ MORE: ‘We are not fast enough’ – Hamilton admits that Mercedes has ‘a lot of work ahead of them’ before the first race

“We have had problems in the last few years with the pace in the winter tests and have managed to make good progress before the first race, but we may have our work interrupted this time.”

Hamilton’s teammate Valtteri Bottas had a better time and talked about feeling “confident and comfortable” with the W12 after getting what he said was enough time in the car for short and long runs. This will improve Mercedes’ mood, but there is certainly a feeling that the Silver Arrows are going to the opening race in Bahrain on a high note, with plenty to do.

READ MORE: Bottas says the 2021 title victory is still on the cards, despite the “more challenging” preseason with Mercedes

3. Vettel is still optimistic, despite a complicated test for Aston Martin

Considering that Sebastian Vettel’s session ended early, thanks to the loss of pressure from the turbo and therefore he missed the chance to make a soft tire run, the German was surprisingly in good shape when we talked.

Vettel’s final count over the three days was 117, one more than seven-times world champion Hamilton, but half that of mileage chart leader Pierre Gasly – but although he admitted that he would like more laps, his initial sensation with the car is good, and his experienced head is concentrating on keeping his cool, especially since he sees a lot of potential in the car.

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

“We didn’t do much of it, but it is what it is and we still have more, given some of the hiccups we had, than we expected due to the dedication of the guys,” said Vettel.

“They’ve been working hard for these three days and getting the car fixed as quickly as possible, to get the most out of the time. This [the pecking order] it seems to be very tight, so I hope we’re in the mix and then have fun. “

4. Ferrari is better than last year

There was good news for Ferrari’s faithful tifosi on Sunday, when team boss Mattia Binotto said the team’s straight-line speed “is no longer a disadvantage”, the track data apparently supporting the dynamics data at Maranello and confirming their belief about the winter when they made great strides with their energy unit.

That alone is a relief, given that this time last year, 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 with a hydraulics problem on Sunday, the Spaniard still came back to do some performance races, which jumped him to third place in the standings, 0.651s from the pace with the C4 Pirelli compound tire (the second softest in the range).

And between him and his teammate Charles Leclerc, they managed more than 2,100 km of running – which included running simulations, which seemed reasonably strong – and now they have the next two weeks to analyze this data and make adjustments before the race opening of the Station.

WATCH: ‘Never judge anything after pre-season testing’, says Charles Leclerc

5. High mileage for the third and final test day

Anyone who thinks Kimi Raikkonen is losing his love for Formula 1 proved wrong again on Sunday, when the 41-year-old Finnish veteran made an incredible 166 laps on the Bahrain international circuit, which is only five less than one, not two. , but three complete distances from the Bahrain Grand Prix.

This placed his Alfa Romeo team in second place on the mileage chart, just a shy from an impressive AlphaTauri, and almost a distance from the Grand Prix ahead of Red Bull, which dictated the pace.

Of course, there were little problems everywhere, with various things – like hydraulic problems or engine problems, causing teams headaches and costing vital execution time, on a day when conditions were at their best.

But they all got more than a century of laps each, which is a very encouraging endeavor when it comes to the reliability side of things, especially with the season’s opening race, in the same location in Bahrain, just a few weeks away. distance.

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