Part 2 | đ Three days, one track | Inside the Bahrain testing week
Who performed best on each day, drivers opinions, plenty of red flags & team discussions
The second round of pre-season testing at the Bahrain International Circuit has concluded, meaning the next time we hit the track is for our season-opening race, Australia!
Iâm here to debrief the main events that occurred during the 3 days of testing, along with drivers + teams opinions. Iâve already posted Part 1 of the testing where I discuss week one - click here if youâd like to read it.
Without further ado, let the track take it away!
đ„ Day 1:
George Russell topped the charts, with a fastest lap time of 1:33.459, completing 76 laps!
Oscar Piastri finished in P2, with a lap time of 1:33.469, only +0.010 away from P1! He managed to complete 70 laps!
Charles Leclerc finished in P3, with a lap time of 1:33.739, completing 70 laps!
đ© First of the week:
The first red-flag of the week was brought out by Lance Stroll! His AMR26 appeared to lose drive whilst downshifting into turn 11, snapping left and beaching into the gravel. His car was briskly recovered by the marshals and recovery crane, allowing for the session to resume after 7 minutes.
đ” Speedy team, debatable machinery:
Mercedes are once again proving to be a strong & impressive team to watch out for this season, with Russell in P1 and Antonelli in P5! Obviously, each team is running a different setup, testing a variety of parts, etc. Yet, whatever Mercedes has been working on during testing, theyâre nailing it!
Alright, since we are on the topic of Mercedes, letâs discuss the ongoing controversy regarding their engines! On Wednesday, it was said that the FIA will vote on a mid-season rule change amid Mercedes engine design. The issue concerns the legality of the new compression ratios that were introduced under the new regulations. Iâve already uploaded a post covering everything related to the new compression ratio, so click here if youâd like to learn more and catch up on the issue!
- In order for a change to happen, a supermajority would be required - meaning 6/7 votes from the seven voters, which are the 5 power unit manufacturers, F1 & FIA. If the supermajority happens, an outcome should be expected before the Australian GP. -
What are your thoughts regarding the engine âloopholeâ? Will the FIA call for a change?
â«ïž Early setbacks, strong confidence:
Sergio Perezâs session was interrupted due to a sensor issue on his Cadillac, as he eventually returned to the track to complete a total of 24 laps, the lowest number of the day! Valtteri Bottas only managed to complete 35 laps during his session.
On Thursday morning, Graeme Lowdon, Cadillac Team Principal, has told the viewers to not âread too muchâ into the teamâs issues, saying,
âI wouldnât read too much into yesterday â yesterday was day nine of running a Formula 1 car and todayâs day 10. Weâre up against teams who have been doing this for a very, very long time.â
Heâs not wrong! As the team progresses, these early issues will become miniscule!
đ„ Day 2:
Kimi Antonelli topped the timesheet for P1 with a fastest lap time of 1:32.803, completing 79 laps!
Oscar Piastri once again finished in P2 with a lap time of 1:32.861, completing 86 laps!
Max Verstappen finished in P3 with a lap time of 1:33.162, completing 139 laps!
đŽ Innovations & beyond:
Ferrari were showing off their skills and innovations today, showcasing a brand new rotating rear wing! Weâve seen other teams introducing a variety of rear wing designs recently, such as Alpine and Audi opting for front-mounted hinges, yet nothing as unusual as what Ferrari has done.
Ferrariâs rear wing rotates 180°, activating via a central pivot point to run upside down in straight-line mode. The team are only âtestingâ the new item and are yet to confirm its use later in the season. So far, all seems to be going positively for Ferrari! Will the Tifosi have a cause to celebrate this season?
â Trouble, once again:
Mercedes are yet again going through some frustrating allegations, this time it being their âillegal fuelâ. Mercedes fuel manufacturer Petronas has yet to obtain certification and homologation for their products. If Petronas are unable to obtain this before the start of the season, a âprovisionalâ fuel will be supplied to teams who use the brand - Mercedes, McLaren, Williams and Alpine.
Toto Wolff isnât catching a break anytime soon! Unhappy with these reports, he said,
âYou know this is another of these stories. We were told compression ratio is something that we were illegal, which is total bulls---. Utter bulls--- and now the next story comes up that our fuel is illegal? I donât know where that comes from and it starts spinning again. Maybe tomorrow weâre inventing something else?â
đđ» No luck:
Aston Martin is still going through some troubles with the new AMR26. Approaching turn 4, Fernando Alonso came to a halt following some troubles under braking. As expected, this brought out red flags whilst the car was transported back to the garage.
The team identified a problem with the power unit, resulting in the stop on track. Fernando Alonso commented on the day, saying,
âIt was important to get some mileage in, but it wasnât enough, and we couldnât complete our run plan due to a PU-related issue that caused an early finish to the afternoon session. There are many things we need to fix, but I know everyone at the track and at the campus is working at 100% capacity to find solutions.â
đ„ Day 3:
Charles Leclerc finished the final day of testing in P1! He set a fastest lap time of 1:31.992, completing 132 laps!
Lando Norris finished in P2 with a lap time of 1:32.871, completing 47 laps!
Max Verstappen finished in P3 with a lap time of 1:33.109, completing 65 laps!
âïž Rising up:
Haas have been doing amazingly these past two weeks, gradually rising in positions on the timesheets. In the last two days of week 2 testing, at least one Haas driver has been in the top 10! Oliver Bearman is pleased with the progress the team has made, saying,
âFinal day complete in Bahrain and Iâm really proud of the hard work that the whole team has put in over pre-season testing. The steps that weâve made have been super impressive, and today was by far the most productive of the test.â
đŹ Unhappy partner:
Following the troublesome week for Aston Martin, Honda have issued a statement responding to the issues. The statement reads,
âOur last run with Fernando Alonso yesterday showed a battery-related issue that impacted our test plan with the Aston Martin Aramco Formula 1 Team. Since then, we have been carrying out simulations on the test bench in HRC Sakura. Due to this and the shortage of power unit parts, we have adapted todayâs run plan to be very limited and consist only of short stints.â
đïž The end:
Week two seemed to be quieter compared to week one, with most teams analysing existing data and trying out new items & parts. The top three teams that have impressed me during these 2 weeks are:
Haas = I spoke about them in Part 1, commenting on the team âglow-upâ. Iâm excited to see their progress this season as itâs looking very hopeful!
McLaren = quiet and calm, not being spoken about too much yet constantly on the top of the timesheets, ranking up mileage. Are they taking the stealthy approach and not revealing much this season?
Ferrari = Tifosiâs, letâs not get too excited just yet⊠even though I canât wait to see if theyâll match their quick pace throughout the season!
Who have been your top 3 teams during pre-season testing?
Alright, that brings us to a close for the Bahrain pre-season testing! The next time weâll see the cars on track is in Australia! Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed this weekâs shorter post! Click the like button to support, and let me know if you have any suggestions or improvements for me!
Great read, thanks for sharing!
I'd say the biggest shock is Aston Martin - seemed like a promising set of changes with Newey and Honda, but I think it might have been too many changes at once and they are not adapting well. Especially considering the statement Honda put out as well.
Great post as usual Julia! Iâm excited to see Mercedes dominating right now but itâs going to be interesting to see how the votes on the rules engine and fuel will affect them going forward but I donât foresee much trouble there