The first day of Formula 1 pre-season testing reaffirmed what many expected: Red Bull Racing remains the leading team and is poised to resume winning once the season begins.
Verstappen completed an impressive number of laps around the Bahrain International Circuit on Wednesday, consistently outpacing the competition by over a second. Thursday saw a shift in dynamics, with Ferrari and Mercedes logging significant mileage and demonstrating improved pace compared to the previous day.
Ferrari encounters another incident involving a drain cover.
Not too long after a Las Vegas manhole cover incident caused trouble for Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari, it was Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari that fell victim to a similar mishap. A loose drain cover caused damage to Leclerc’s car floor, prompting an early halt to the session for track inspection. Ferrari had to replace the entire floor of its SF-24 and adjust its development plans for the rest of the day accordingly.
Hamilton returns to action.
Lewis Hamilton finally got his chance to test the W15 after missing out on Wednesday, taking in George Russell’s feedback in the meantime. The seven-time champion primarily focused on procedural runs throughout most of his session, although he managed to push for faster lap times as the test progressed.
Completing 123 laps, Hamilton recorded a best time of 1:31.066, still trailing behind the fastest time set by Ferrari by 1.1 seconds, although it’s considered early days to draw significant conclusions from this difference.
Reflecting on his day, Hamilton expressed satisfaction, stating, “It was a productive day out there. We gathered lots of learnings about the W15, both in our long running and single lap work. We’ve clearly made an improvement with this year’s car and it’s much nicer to drive.”
Hamilton is scheduled to return to the track Friday morning for a brief session before handing over the reins to Russell in the afternoon.
Hello, Perez! How can I assist you today?
Sergio Perez continues the momentum from Max Verstappen’s performance yesterday, displaying impressive pace by completing 129 laps—six more than Hamilton. The Mexican driver concentrated on familiarizing himself with the new car and honing setup adjustments in preparation for the upcoming race next week.
In general, Perez expressed satisfaction with the car’s progress, seeing it as a positive step. He mentioned the challenging nature of the track, which evolves throughout the day,
requiring adjustments to the setup based on feel. Perez’s fastest lap of 1:30.679 was notably quicker than Verstappen’s from the previous day, yet Sainz outpaced him with a time of 1:29.921. The evolving lap times raise curiosity about further improvements on the third day of testing.
Given the limited track time before the season opener, it remains uncertain who will effectively challenge the Red Bulls when the racing begins.
