Thursday’s early simulations featured Leclerc, Norris, and Antonelli, with the McLaren driver emerging as the fastest. However, track conditions may have influenced the results, making them less representative. The final afternoon session provided more typical conditions, yielding more reliable data.
McLaren vs. Mercedes on Day 3
By the end of testing, an approximate race pace comparison between teams became possible. On the final day, McLaren and Mercedes were the only top teams to complete full Grand Prix simulations.
The graph represents the stint progression of Piastri and Russell, both running in the afternoon session. The Australian started his run on C3 tires, completing 17 laps with an initial lap time of 1:36.518 and finishing in 1:36.936. McLaren displayed excellent tire management, maintaining an average lap time of 1:36.247.
Russell also began on C3 tires but completed 18 laps, showing greater degradation. His first lap time was 1:36.176, while his final lap was a 1:36.953. It appears the British driver pushed too hard early on, causing a slight drop-off in pace, leading to an average of 1:36.748.
For the second stint, Oscar Piastri switched to C1 tires and ran 20 laps. His first lap after pitting was a 1:35.294, closing the stint at 1:35.630. Once again, McLaren’s tire management proved impeccable, with an average lap time of 1:35.175.
Mercedes opted for a different strategy, running C2 tires for 22 laps. Russell’s stint was strong, and towards the end, he even outperformed McLaren. His first lap was a 1:35.556, finishing with a 1:35.129. The average lap time of 1:35.232 was almost identical to Piastri’s, suggesting closely matched performance in this phase of the race simulation.
In the final stint, as seen the previous day, McLaren used C2 tires but completed only 10 laps. The initial lap time was 1:33.928, with the final lap at 1:33.828. Given the short stint and lower fuel load, the team was able to push harder, achieving an impressive average of 1:33.823.
Russell switched to C1 tires for his last stint but only managed three laps, making it less relevant for race pace analysis. His opening lap was 1:33.984, followed by two promising laps in the 1:33.400 range. With fuel loads decreasing and on harder tires, Mercedes came close to McLaren’s pace. While fuel levels and engine modes remain unknown, Russell’s race pace was encouraging for the Brackley-based team.
Comparing the Top Teams
McLaren and Mercedes were the only teams to conduct full race simulations with both drivers—one on Day 2 and another on Day 3. Ferrari followed a similar program but only with Charles Leclerc on the second day, while Red Bull focused on long runs without completing a full race distance.
The graph highlights the performance differences between teams, drivers, and test days. Notably, temperatures rose on the final day, making conditions more representative and providing teams with more valuable data.
Antonelli and Norris, shown with dashed lines, completed their runs on Day 2, making it possible to compare their pace against teammates who ran the following day. Leclerc also ran on the second day, leaving some uncertainty about Ferrari’s true performance. On the final session of the last day, Hamilton appeared to be following a similar test program but returned to the pits after an unconvincing stint on C3 tires.
Simulations of Other Teams
The competitive order behind the top four teams remains extremely tight, making it nearly impossible to establish a clear hierarchy. One of the biggest question marks surrounds Aston Martin, which faced three days filled with issues that prevented the car from completing long runs on track.
Among the midfield teams, Haas, Racing Bulls, and Sauber all carried out race distance simulations. At Haas, it was Ocon who completed this program, while the other two teams assigned the task to their rookie drivers.
Throughout testing in Bahrain, Haas focused on race pace and tire management. At first glance, the team appears to have made significant improvements in this area, with various long runs demonstrating greater consistency in lap times compared to last season.
Racing Bulls and Sauber also dedicated a substantial amount of work to race pace simulations. In addition to the highlighted runs, both teams completed several shorter long runs, including with Tsunoda and Hülkenberg. The two rookie drivers performed reasonably well, and the spikes visible in the graph were caused by driver errors that resulted in a loss of a few seconds.
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