Red Bull’s Max Verstappen set the pace on the final day of pre-season testing, just ahead of AlphaTauri rookie Yuki Tsunoda, who secured a Honda-powered one-two at the top of the timesheet in Bahrain.
Tsunoda made a series of laps at the end of the session with the softer C5 tires and, while Verstappen rode the C4s, the two engaged in a sparkling counterattack under the lights. But it was Verstappen who took the lead with a time of 1’28.960, Tsunoda just 0.093s away. Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Perez led the morning session on C4 tires and finished sixth overall, completing an encouraging test for Red Bull.
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The third fastest was Carlos Sainz, who suffered a brief break in the race due to a hydraulic problem, but had a total of 79 laps under his name after leaving at the end of the session. His teammate at Ferrari, Charles Leclerc, finished second in the morning and 10th overall in medium compounds.
At the end of the session, Sainz became involved in a dramatic but peculiar fight on the track with Kimi Raikkonen of Alfa Romeo, with the two touching briefly and leaving the track in the final moments.
World Champion Lewis Hamilton lost valuable time as he was confined to the garage during the early hours of the afternoon, and he didn’t leave until the sun started to set. The Briton used the softer compound at the end to improve to fifth overall, behind Raikkonen – who completed almost 165 laps to lead the mileage stops. Hamilton, however, found it difficult to join fast sectors in his final qualifying speed races, even spinning on his final laps in what appeared to be an unstable W12 car.
Hamilton’s Silver Arrows teammate Valtteri Bottas finished seventh fastest in the morning, 16th overall with more than 80 laps completed – although he has suffered notable understeer attacks throughout his race. He complained about a “grumpy” and “relentless” rear in his car on day 2, but said the problems seemed to have improved by lunchtime on day 3. Still, it hasn’t been the typically relentless and efficient performance at that we came to expect from the reigning champions.
Williams’ George Russell made a flight effort with C5 tires to come in sixth when he made his 2021 test debut in Saunday, after Roy Nissany and Nicholas Latifi took over as director for the other two days. Russell managed 160 laps on the third day for his team, having had Sunday for himself.
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Lando Norris was the third fastest in the morning – 11th overall, but Daniel Ricciardo eclipsed his time in the 90 minutes of the afternoon race, finishing seventh on C4 tires. The pair completed more than 110 laps throughout the day in a solid display for McLaren.
Alpine’s Fernando Alonso has already hinted that the team would not complete the qualifying simulators on Sunday, and finished ninth fastest on C4 tires – while Esteban Ocon finished 13th overall with middleweight. Both drivers achieved more than 60 laps each, ensuring a healthy total for Alpine.
And although Tsunoda was second on the timesheet at the end of the day, his teammate Pierre Gasly finished 12th after working in the morning for the team. Gasly’s best lap was set with the slower C3 tires, however.
Nikita Mazepin, from Haas, rode more than 60 laps at night and finished 14th on C4 tires, half a second faster than his teammate Mick Schumacher – who exuded confidence after finishing his tests at lunchtime and said he was looking forward to leave for the first race.
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Finally, Aston Martin encountered more problems today, which saw Sebastian Vettel lose the race under the lights. He completed a decent 56 laps, but the problem – revealed to be a loss of pressure from the turbo – prevented Vettel from participating in the final 90 minutes of the session. He finished 17th on the pace chart, his teammate Lance Stroll on the last and 18th (80 laps) both with medium tires for his fastest races.
Red Bull’s pace created a lot of intrigue before the season opened, and even Hamilton admitted that Mercedes has a fight on their hands given the strong demonstration of Verstappen and Perez in the tests. But who is really faster? Everything will be revealed on March 28 with the first Grand Prix of the season – also being held here in Bahrain.