Teams completed their lunchtime setup changes and it was time for the final session of 2023 Formula One pre-season testing. We had Carlos Sainz back in action, as the Spanish driver replaced his Maranello teammate Charles Leclerc for this last part of the day, while Lewis Hamilton Carlos Sainz, Fernando Alonso and Lando Norris also returned to the track.
We most likely saw the best indications of the week so far in terms of what to expect for the opening race of the season at the same circuit next weekend.
The final session of 2023 pre-season testing was therefore under way and we did have some immediate action, with Esteban Ocon straight out on track. That was a good effort from the Alpine mechanics to get that car switched over after Pierre Gasly drove it this morning.
We had an update from Alfa Romeo following that breakdown before the break. It would appear they we’re fully confident of getting Valtteri Bottas back on track this afternoon. Lando Norris and Nyck de Vries were out on track, as they were soon followed by Lewis Hamilton. Mercedes was looking for a strong finish to testing after a troublesome Friday. AlphaTauri sent Yuki Tsunoda out with an extreme coating of flow-vis paint on his sidepods. Not sure if that was the additional colour on some of this season’s liveries that people have been calling for. The track was getting a bit busier, with six cars out there.
Good news for Valtteri Bottas: He was back on track for the first time since that mechanical issue in the morning sessions. 75 laps and counting for him. Fernando Alonso was also coming out for his first laps of the day in the Aston Martin, as Sergio Perez established a more familiar-looking top three by moving ahead of Aston Martin with a 1:31.714. That was seven-tenths off Charles Leclerc, but there was plenty more pace in that Red Bull.
Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz was also putting in some quicker laps but couldn’t beat Fernando Alonso on the same tyre. He was sixth midway through the session.
The C2 tyre was on for Lewis Hamilton on his latest stint, which meant he was not going for pace, but did improve up to 13th. 26 laps on the board this afternoon for the seven-time world champion with two hours to go until the end of the pre-season testing session. Soon after, it was Ferrari one-two in Bahrain! Carlos Sainz got the C4 tyres – the same as Charles Leclerc set the fastest time on earlier – and his lap was just a tenth off his team-mate. He went purple through the final sector. The Spaniard went for another run on a fresh set of C4s, but he couldn’t quite beat his Ferrari team-mate, ending up 12 thousandths of a second behind the Monegasque’s earlier effort. Charles Leclerc, watching on the pit wall, was made to laugh at something.
We then also saw some improvement from Fernando Alonso, who did a 1:32.017 on the C3 Pirelli tyre, while Lewis Hamilton put on a new pair of the C3 tyres and was going for a quick lap: it was just under a second off Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz’s leading efforts, which were done on the softer C4 tyre and about 0.3s back from Sergio Perez’s earlier effort on the same medium compound, half a tenth ahead of Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso.
We were expecting to see some quick times over the final hour, with most cars expected to go for fast runs on soft tyres.
Lando Norris, who did the least laps of any driver today until the final hour, was finally back out on track after the latest McLaren repairs. He went up to eighth with his fastest lap of the three days – a 1:32.691. Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton was out of the car as Mercedes work on that troublesome rear, that he has been visibly struggling with this afternoon. Fernando Alonso found a bit more time to move above Sergio Perez and Hamilton into fourth. Sergio Perez might not yet be delivering the eye-catching times we saw from Max Verstappen, but Red Bull were having another day where plenty of running was getting done. Lewis Hamilton put on a set of softer C4 tyres and set in a 1:31.245, which was good enough for third. It was still a couple of tenths back from Charles Leclerc, but Mercedes could take some encouragement from the fact he was able to deliver the fastest final sector.
Lewis Hamilton then had a go with the C5 and the softest compound gave him enough speed to top the Ferrari cars. It was the quickest time of testing so far, a 1:30.781, which was a couple of tenths faster than Charles Leclerc. It was now interesting to see if Carlos Sainz or Sergio Perez would go out in the C5s to give us a comparison. And for the first time today, Red Bull show their speed: Sergio Perez put in a purple middle and final sector to take top spot for the world champions with a 1:30.616. That was a tenth and a half quicker than what Hamilton managed, and on the one step ‘harder’ C4 tyres.
Fresh C4 tyres on the Red Bull and more speed is unlocked: Sergio Perez built a 0.3s advantage out in front with a 1:30.3 and that was quite the marker to beat. But looking at some late surprises on the timesheet on quicker tyres – here is one of those: Valtteri Bottas lifts the Alfa Romeo, that topped with a glory run yesterday, up to third on the C5 tyres, half a second off Sergio Perez.
Considering we were likely to see more FIA checks at the end, there was not long left if drivers wanted to see what pace they’ve had at the same track where they’ll be kicking off the 2023 Formula One season next weekend.
Just medium tyres on for Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz, as they head back out on track. It looked like they were using these conditions for higher fuel long runs to close the day. And there was time for one final practice race start of testing – this time a rolling start – before a real one next weekend.
We therefore saw the chequered flag for the end of the 2023 Formula 1 testing session! It has been an intriguing – and very reliable on the whole – three days of running in Bahrain and the test is ultimately topped by the team who have stood out as the cream of the crop, Red Bull. Sergio Perez finishes fastest from Lewis Hamilton for Mercedes, with Ferrari seemingly hiding back their pace today, as Carlos Sainz ended the afternoon session with 76 laps and a personal best lap time of the 1:31.036.
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