Before the start of the season, Formula 1 is making a three-day test drive in Bahrain. From February 23rd to 25th, the ten teams will have the opportunity to put their new cars through their paces on the track. Red Bull, Mercedes and Co. want to set a scent mark shortly before the start of the new season.
From 8:00 a.m. on Friday, the International Circuit Bahrain will be back on track. sport.de accompanies the events from the desert as usual via live blog.
+++ 8:22 a.m.: Data collection to start +++
As expected, fast laps are not driven at the beginning of the session. Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz is currently in the lead, the Spaniard clocking a 1:37.248 under the watch of his rally driver father. For comparison: Max Verstappen’s best time yesterday was 1:32.837.
The teams take the opportunity to collect a lot of data, often with the help of aero measuring instruments. McLaren’s Lando Norris is even on the road with four bars, a truly bizarre sight.
+++ 8:15 a.m .: Oliver Mintzlaff as a guest in the RB garage +++
An important face of the Red Bull cosmos is present at today’s test drives: Oliver Mintzlaff. The former CEO of RB Leipzig became the new CEO of Red Bull GmbH after the death of Red Bull founder Dietrich Mateschitz – and was discovered a few moments ago in a conversation with Christian Horner.
+++ 08:09: Hamilton also gets started +++
Yesterday, the seven-time world champion was sixth, his team-mate George Russell was ninth fastest. The Silver Arrows, who are racing in black again this year, are hoping for improvement after last season’s disappointment. The same applies to AlphaTauri, who want to attack the midfield with a new driver pairing (Tsunoda/De Vries). The Japanese contests the morning session and is also on the road.
+++ 8:05 a.m.: The first cars on the track +++
Fernando Alonso surprised in yesterday’s test with the second fastest time. Today will show whether the time of the Aston Martin is really that competitive. In any case, Alonso moves over the asphalt with aero measuring instruments.
+++ 8:00 a.m.: Let’s go! +++
The traffic lights are green, the second training session has started! We have a total of eight and a half hours of racing spectacle ahead of us. Sergio Pérez, who will be driving the Red Bull in the morning, will be there for the first time.
+++ Who sits in the cockpits? +++
All ten teams will field one car in each session. On Friday morning, these ten drivers will take their place in the cockpit:
- RedBull: Sergio Perez
- Ferrari: Carlos Sainz
- Mercedes: Lewis Hamilton
- Alpine: Esteban Ocon
- McLaren: Lando Norris
- Alfa Romeo: Guanyouzhou
- Aston Martin: Fernando Alonso
- Hass: Kevin Magussen
- AlphaTauri: Yuki Tsunoda
- Williams: Logan Sargeant
+++ Red Bull at the top +++
The first day of Formula 1 testing in Bahrain was already a tough one: Max Verstappen secured the best time on Thursday, while Mercedes was still behind on its own claims.
In the morning session, George Russell even lagged behind Williams driver Alex Albon. In the afternoon Lewis Hamilton still managed the fifth fastest time of the day. Nevertheless, the distance to the top teams Red Bull and Ferrari, who finished third and fourth, was obvious.
Meanwhile, veteran Fernando Alonso caused a real surprise. The 41-year-old steered his Aston Martin into second place in the afternoon. In the end, only Max Verstappen was faster, who competed in both sessions and completed the most of any F1 driver with 143 laps.
+++ Only test in Formula 1 +++
As in the previous year, the test drives in Bahrain are the only chance to put the new cars through their paces before the start of the new season on March 3rd.
The sessions will take place from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. (CET). A lunch break of one hour is scheduled each day.
At the beginning of March, things will get serious in Formula 1. The first race of the new season will take place on March 5th at the Bahrain International Circuit. The test drives in the desert state are therefore important for two reasons.