Testing times

The Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) hosted the second round of pre-season testing last weekend, giving teams a chance to fix issues they discovered during the first round in Spain, and establish a baseline for the car’s performance.

Bahrain’s warm conditions were different from the cool spring temperatures of Barcelona, and as the heat took hold, reliability issues started to crop up.

To start off, it was a mixed bag for Mercedes in Bahrain. They topped the lap charts with a whopping 384 circuits around the Sakhir track, but they didn’t make it to the top of the timing sheets. They unveiled their sleek side pods on Day 1, going in a completely different design direction. But it didn’t seem to help their porpoising issues – where the car bounces on the track. The fastest Mercedes lap was 1 minute, 32.759 seconds by George Russell.

Red Bull assuredly cracked on with their programme on the opening two days, and on Day 3 they ran a very different looking car after a raft of upgrades arrived, including a different side pod design. And whatever they’ve done – it worked. Sergio Perez topped the morning session, and Max Verstappen was quickest under the lights, clocking the fastest lap of 1m 31.720s.

Ferrari were the talk of the town on Thursday and Friday with quick laps being laid down by both their drivers. Everyone agreed they were fast, and had no reliability issues. They might have been pipped by Red Bull right at the end of Saturday, but nonetheless the team looks well placed to mount a charge this season. Charles Leclerc put up their fastest lap of 1m 32.415s.

Despite stealing the show in Barcelona, things started to unravel for McLaren. First, Daniel Ricciardo was diagnosed with Covid-19 which meant he missed all three days. Lando Norris had braking and overheating issues, which couldn’t be fully fixed and cost running across three days. The team were able to clock in 199 laps during the three days, with a fastest lap time of 1m 33.191s.

Aston Martin blitzed through relatively untroubled. The only hiccup was a stop on track for Sebastian Vettel on Friday, but the German wasn’t confined to the pits for long once the team recovered his car, with the issue a relatively minor one. Their fastest lap was 1m 33.821s, put up by Vettel.

AlphaTauri also had a seamless weekend and reported no real reliability concerns. So far so good for the team, and in Pierre Gasly they have a proven performer who is improving with age and youngster Yuki Tsunoda who is headed into the calendar with one season already under his belt. Out of 370 laps run by the team, Tsunoda emerged the fastest with a time of 1m 33.002s.

After troubled running in Barcelona, with plenty of mechanical issues, Bahrain went much more smoothly for Alfa Romeo. Zhou Guanyu got plenty of laps under his belt and even a practice standing start, while former Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas also spent a fair amount of time on track. He went on to set his team’s fastest lap time of 1m 32.985s.

Alpine’s Esteban Ocon shone on Friday, topping the timing sheets in the morning despite soaring temperatures. With plenty of long runs under his belt, it was a good showing by the Frenchman and one that Fernando Alonso was able to match on the final day.

Williams had a good opening day, but it went awry on Friday. Nicholas Latifi was in the car when the brakes caught fire, causing him to spin. On Day 3, Latifi more than made up for his lack of running with a mighty 124 laps. Alex Albon had a quiet but composed test, and seems to have bedded in well with his new team.

Haas’s test got off to the worst possible start. Freight delays meant they couldn’t take part on the first morning, but FIA later let them for longer on the next two days, to make up for lost time. Once on track, reliability issues hampered their laps in every session, but were fixed relatively quickly and didn’t prove terminal. Fastest lap was by Mick Schumacher who set a time of 1m 32.241s.