With the first official test session in Sakhir now completed, we can begin—very cautiously—to draw some initial conclusions about the start of this Formula 1 season. In Bahrain, teams put into practice everything learned during the Barcelona shakedown, including insights gathered by closely observing rival packages.
F1, Bahrain test – Will Red Bull set the benchmark in electric management?
Max Verstappen, at the wheel of the RB22 on the opening day of running, immediately caught the attention of both rivals and paddock insiders. As reported by The Race, with the advantage of observing the cars trackside, the Dutchman was applying extremely aggressive braking into slow corners, rapidly downshifting through the gears. This behavior was particularly noticeable at Turn 10, one of the slowest corners on the Bahrain circuit.
During Day 1, Verstappen adopted a highly unconventional driving style in slow-speed corners with a clear objective: maximizing electric energy harvesting. As visible from the telemetry comparison of Norris, Leclerc and Verstappen’s lap times on the opening day, the Dutch driver used first gear in three corners—Turns 1, 8 and 10.
This is certainly not a trend we have observed in recent years. Rapid downshifting under braking into very low gears increases component wear and makes the car extremely nervous and unsettled. In effect, it amplifies engine braking, further unloading the rear axle, generating difficult-to-control oversteer and potential micro lock-ups at the rear.
It becomes clear that implementing such an approach requires extremely refined calibration of the entire package—from the brake-by-wire system (which manages rear braking force distribution between discs and the MGU-K) to the deceleration effect generated by the MGU-K itself, a key player in braking stability. However, as we have understood over the winter, the real challenge lies in battery recharging, ensuring adequate electric power deployment for the driver throughout the lap.
The motor generator unit slows the crankshaft, recovering kinetic energy that would otherwise be lost as heat. As speed decreases, however, the MGU-K’s harvesting power also drops until it eventually becomes negligible. This can be mitigated by using lower gears: higher engine revs keep crankshaft rotation elevated, sustaining MGU-K energy recovery.
It is therefore easy to understand how complex it is to develop and execute such a solution on track. Additionally, by keeping engine revs high, turbo pressure is maintained, reducing the dreaded turbo lag. As a result, thanks to the increased exhaust gas flow, the energy required to counter turbo response delay on corner exit is reduced. It is a fully integrated system working in total synergy—and unsurprisingly, potentially very difficult to replicate for rival power units.
F1, Bahrain test – Is Ferrari taking a more conservative electric approach?
Analyzing telemetry data provides extremely interesting technical insights. Looking at the Day 1 comparison between the best laps of Norris (1:34.669), Leclerc (1:35.190) and Verstappen (1:34.798), clear differences emerge in electric power deployment strategies.
Toto Wolff, speaking on Wednesday, used strong words regarding the new RBPT Ford power unit, calling it the benchmark: “Look at their energy deployment strategy. They are able to distribute more energy than anyone else on the straights, for more seconds and for consecutive laps,” explained the Austrian. The data supports his assessment. The speed-distance graph of the fastest laps shows Verstappen reaching the end of the main straight with an 11 km/h advantage over Leclerc and 14 km/h over Norris. The gap becomes even more pronounced in race simulations, but even from low-fuel qualifying-style laps valuable conclusions can be drawn.
More than pure top speed, it is fascinating to observe gear selection and corresponding engine revs. While Verstappen used first gear in Turns 1, 8 and 10, Leclerc held seventh gear in the sections leading into Turns 4 and 11, exploiting higher engine speeds. The Ferrari driver also used one gear lower than Norris and Verstappen through the medium-fast complex from Turns 5 to 7. These are micro-savings in Joules, but over time they can prove decisive.
Engine rev behavior under braking is equally interesting. Into Turn 1, Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen reached almost identical and overlapping RPM peaks. On the short stretch toward Turn 10, Norris, in the same gear, achieved higher revs thanks to a specific energy deployment strategy that allowed him to hit 251 km/h—10 km/h faster than Leclerc and 8 km/h faster than Verstappen.
Turn 12 is the point where all cars exploited internal combustion engine power to recharge the battery. The regulations allow part of the V6’s output to be used in this way, and this is clearly visible in the data. Despite drivers holding full throttle for roughly 400 meters, speed and RPM remain capped. This allows them to take the corner at 100% throttle without having access to the full 400 kW of the ICE, avoiding the need for partial throttle modulation. A similar principle is applied at the end of straights: the car’s speed begins to drop even before the driver lifts off the accelerator.
Continuing the telemetry analysis of the fastest laps, different deployment strategies used by Leclerc and Hamilton on Days 2 and 3 also stand out (1:34.272 for the Monegasque, 1:34.209 for the Briton). Leclerc reached Turn 1 with a positive speed delta of 16.6 km/h before clipping (in both cases around 200 meters, between negative MGU-K power and closed throttles). He also downshifted earlier and more aggressively, holding fifth gear before the medium-speed 5-6-7 complex to benefit from higher revs.
At Turn 11, Lewis Hamilton selected third gear for roughly 50 meters, mirroring the Red Bull solution, while his Maranello teammate stuck with the more conventional fourth gear. On the final straight, Hamilton used an 8 km/h advantage to close in on his teammate—who remained constant at 305 km/h—overtaking him on exit from the final corner and finishing ahead by 0.063 seconds.
The fastest laps from the two Mercedes drivers and Verstappen also reveal distinct approaches (1:33.668 for Antonelli, 1:33.918 for Russell, 1:35.424 for Verstappen). While Hamilton adopted a relatively neutral strategy—though still downshifting one gear lower into Turn 1 compared to his second-fastest lap—both Mercedes drivers and Verstappen made more explicit and aggressive use of lower gears.
Antonelli, in particular, appears to have had access to a slightly upgraded power unit compared to his teammate, enjoying an advantage on nearly every straight (except the final one, likely conserving energy for the best acceleration phase of the group).
Kimi used first gear in Turn 1, while Russell did so in Turns 8 and 10. The Italian also selected a lower gear into Turn 4, while Verstappen positioned himself as a hybrid between the two strategies. Noteworthy as well was Antonelli’s approach to the final straight, holding seventh gear before downshifting progressively to second into Turn 14, maximizing traction on exit.
Interestingly, Verstappen maintained the highest engine revs of the group in slow corners. Could the RBPT power unit have been designed with a fundamentally different philosophy compared to its rivals? It is extremely difficult to say, but it remains a fascinating point for further technical analysis.
Next will come the telemetry analysis of race pace simulations—an even more complex and nuanced picture.
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