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The absolute fastest time of
the six-day pre-season test in Bahrain was set during the final hour at the
Sakhir circuit using the new Pirelli tyres. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
improved yesterday’s benchmark set by Kimi Antonelli by eight-tenths of a
second, closing two weeks of sessions with a 1:31.992s on the C4 compound.
The Monegasque thus finished ahead of Lando Norris (McLaren), who
clocked a 1:32.871s, Max Verstappen (Red Bull) with a 1:33.109s, and George
Russell (Mercedes), who posted a 1:33.197s. All three ran on the C3 compound
but failed to beat the fastest time on this tyre, which was held by Leclerc
with a 1:32.655s. Behind them, Pierre Gasly recorded his best time of the
day on the C5s, stopping the clock at 1:33.421s.
The softest compound
was also used today for short runs by Alpine and Williams (Cadillac,
however, did not repeat yesterday’s experiment). Of the four teams with the
C5 at their disposal, Aston Martin was the only one not to use it. Adrian
Newey’s team completed just six laps on C3s this morning before halting all
track activity.
The leaders on the harder compounds were Gabriel
Bortoleto on the C1 (1:37.294s) and Arvin Lindblad (Racing Bulls) on the C2
(1:35.238s). Meanwhile, Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin), Alex Albon
(Williams), Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls), Franco Colapinto (Williams), and
Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) did not go out on the track today.
As seen
yesterday, teams utilised the compounds for both performance runs and
long-distance evaluations. Notable stints included 25 laps by Gabriel
Bortoleto (Audi) on C2s and 24 laps by Esteban Ocon (Haas) on C1s. The
Frenchman was also the only driver to fit a set of Intermediates, running
them for four laps to test front wing behaviour.
Mario Isola,
Pirelli’s Motorsport Director, commented: “The radical changes introduced to
the cars have inevitably shifted the teams’ focus towards power units and
aerodynamics rather than tyres over the last few days. The final stages of
testing are usually dedicated to optimising the car-tyre package, but it is
clear some teams haven’t reached that point yet.
“Generally speaking,
track feedback has been consistent with our simulation expectations. Drivers
were able to gain confidence with the entire Pirelli range through both
performance trials and long runs, even using the C4 and C5 compounds which
aren’t particularly suited to a circuit like Sakhir.
“Mechanical
resistance appeared strong across all options, with no signs of graining or
blistering. Degradation levels are almost certainly higher now than what we
expect for the Bahrain race, when temperatures will be lower and cars more
developed.
“A central theme this season will certainly be balancing
temperatures between the axles, especially ahead of the first race in
Melbourne. The lower loads of a street circuit might require more intensive
tyre preparation or differentiated tyre blanket temperatures, particularly
in qualifying.
“In any case, it will be interesting to discover in
Australia how much teams have been ‘sandbagging’ their engine power to avoid
showing their hand. We only have to wait a couple of weeks to see the true
pecking order.”
This week, 20,693 kilometres were covered,
predominantly on the C3 (61%), which remained the most popular compound
across both blocks of testing. In total, the eleven teams covered 41,366
kilometres over the six days, more than the Earth’s circumference. Since
Wednesday, 326 sets of slick tyres were used, bringing the total for the
entire pre-season to 591 sets. |
