Despite an early red flag interruption, the teams managed to complete significant running in Bahrain Testing. The best time was once again set by the Ferrari SF-24, which used the C4 with Charles Leclerc.
At the end of the session, on the same compound, George Russell came within 46 thousandths of the Monegasque’s time. Third time for Max Verstappen (C3), who stops the clock +0.433 from the Ferrari driver’s mark.
In the long run, the Red Bull RB20 showed all its strength with the Dutchman, reproducing the incredible consistency of times in the long runs.
Max Verstappen and Red Bull impress with long runs, Ferrari is a candidate for second-fastest
Ferrari’s work program showed a competitive SF-24 in the flying lap and in the long run, even if – as we had anticipated – there is still a little bit of polish to be done in the search for the time to extract maximum performance.
On long runs, however, good consistency of times was confirmed, as was improved tyre management and a more balanced and stable SF-24 in the various phases of the ‘race’ and with variable conditions.
The potential is that of second strength, but waiting for everyone to reveal their cards and a comparison on equal terms can be made between the various cars.
Red Bull showed an impressive long run with Max Verstappen, much like last year. The RB20 showed great consistency, experiencing very little degradation (almost zero) on all the compounds used.
The Dutchman had no problems even on the flying lap using the C3, not taking advantage of the softer tyres. George Russell, meanwhile, went faster at the end of the session on the softer compound. Still, this was not enough to improve on Charles Leclerc’s time.
After another day spent working on tests and long runs, the Brackley team gave themselves a final run to push a little more. The W15 today showed another particular innovation invented in Brackley.
Aston Martin worked especially in the long run to control and improve tyre management. Haas and Alpine did not seek performance.
Author: Paolo D’Alessandro
Translation: Jaden Diaz-Ndisang
