Red Bull’s Max Verstappen topped the final day of F1 pre-season testing ahead of sister team AlphaTauri as Yuki Tsunoda enjoyed a successful afternoon session in the car.
It wasn’t until the final hour of the session that teams started to carry out some qualifying simulations as the night fell and conditions cooled. Nearly every team opted to use the two-softest compounds to round out the three-day pre-season test in Bahrain.
After fitting a new set of the C4 Soft tyres, Verstappen started to show his hand as he set the fastest lap of the entire test. He was the only driver below the one minute 29 seconds barrier with a 1:28.960s lap time to finish on a high.
Great day for AlphaTauri
Fellow Honda-powered driver Tsunoda was behind the Dutchman for AlphaTauri as the Japanese driver set the timing sheets alight throughout the final hour. In the end the rookie was just 0.093s shy of Verstappen’s lap time on the C5 softer compound tyre.
Spaniard Carlos Sainz was third-fastest for Ferrari – six tenths off Verstappen. The 26-year-old went for one final hot lap in the dying embers of the session but was heavily comprised by Kimi Raikkonen as the two had a bizarre coming together at Turn 10 on their final laps of testing.
It was the Finn that followed in fourth position, as he registered the most laps of the day. His team Alfa Romeo equalled the most mileage of the test, alongside AlphaTauri, as the Swiss team explored their improved Ferrari power-unit.
Tough day for Mercedes
Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton found himself in fifth position, over a second off the pace off Verstappen in his Mercedes. It’s clear that the German manufacturer did not have the best pre-season testing with work to be done before the Bahrain Grand Prix to rival Red Bull Racing.
It was an unbalanced rear of the car that was causing Hamilton issues all afternoon under braking. He suffered a lot of rear locking and oversteer given the 2021 revised regulation that have impacted the downforce levels on this year’s cars.
George Russell was sixth fastest as he got his hands on the new 2021 Williams for the first time. The British starlet racked up a total of 158 laps in what was an impressive day’s work for the 23-year-old.
Things looking up for McLaren and Daniel Ricciardo
Daniel Ricciardo was seventh for McLaren as he enjoyed another productive day in the car. The Aussie got his first real taste of his motor in representative conditions as he took over for the afternoon session.
Sergio Perez in the second Red Bull was quickest in the morning session but slowly slipped down the pecking order as the day progressed. The Mexican enjoyed some long runs in the morning as he gained valuable experience with his new team.
Alpine’s Fernando Alonso and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc completed the top 10 as both drivers continued to get to grips with their respected cars as they look to be chasing McLaren in their fight for third in the Constructors’ Championship.
Four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel had another difficult afternoon as the German lost further track time when a power-unit related issue kept him sidelined for the final two hours of the session. The 33-year-old will be keen to get back on track in two weeks’ time after completing the least laps of all the full-time drivers across the pre-season test.
