Alfa Romeo’s pre-season came to a successful conclusion as the sun set on Bahrain. The third day of running on the Sakhir circuit saw Kimi Räikkönen notch the highest lap count across the board, with 166 laps to the Finn’s name. Today’s total brings our overall mileage for the three days of testing to 422 laps – 2,283.86km.
Kimi’s programme for the day mirrored that of Antonio Giovinazzi from a day earlier, with a busy morning devoted to long runs and a race simulation, followed by an afternoon centered on performance runs. With no mechanical issues to hamper our day, Kimi and the team were able to complete the full programme on schedule – the third clean day in a row.
Armed with the knowledge gathered in this week of testing, the team’s focus now switches to the first race of the season in two weeks’ time. Returning to the Bahrain International Circuit to start the 2021 campaign will give us the first, real indications about the pecking order. The time to practice is over – now the real battle begins.
Circuit: Bahrain International Circuit / 5.412 km
Driver: Kimi Räikkönen
Chassis / engine: Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN C41-04 / Ferrari
Laps: 166 laps, 898.39 km
Fastest lap: 1:29.766
Kimi Räikkönen (Car #7): “It was a positive day from a work point of view. We got all we came here for and now we just have to see where we are when we’re back here racing in two weeks. Times in testing don’t mean anything and, right now, we don’t know how all the other teams are performing. But we know how our car does, and feeling wise, it is better than last year. I guess we are faster than at our best at the end of 2020, but whether that translate into a better performance in the races, that we will have to see.” – the Finnish driver said at the end of the pre-season testing session in Bahrain.
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