George Russell went simply 0.021s sooner than Max Verstappen throughout late runs on the ultimate day of pre-season testing in Bahrain, as Ferrari’s week ended early as a consequence of a automobile downside.
Lewis Hamilton had been set to finish a race simulation on Friday afternoon however managed simply 47 laps — some on decrease gasoline — earlier than he returned to the storage and his automobile was taken aside. That meant he missed out on a busy remaining hour when rivals used the C3 compound tire to set their quickest instances of the day, with Russell posting a 1m29.545s within the closing levels and taking Mercedes to the very best lap rely of the week with 458.
It had been Verstappen on prime previous to that, the defending champion considered one of two drivers to finish a full day’s operating, though he managed simply 81 laps. Operating a brand new Purple Bull nostril, Verstappen didn’t full a race simulation, and the group ended the week with the bottom mileage of the complete grid, as 4 drivers exceeded the Dutchman’s complete for the day within the afternoon session alone.
Alex Albon was the opposite to spend all day within the automobile at Williams, and he concluded the group’s encouraging week with the third-fastest time. That adopted teammate Carlos Sainz topping the standings on day two, and Sainz’s lap of 1m29.348s stood because the quickest general lap of the take a look at.
The primary caveat to Albon’s place — past variations in gasoline masses and engine modes — was the very fact he used the softer C4 compound tire for his greatest lap, in comparison with the C3 for the remainder of the sphere. The lap rely from Albon was sturdy, nonetheless, as he managed 135 laps to shut out the take a look at, particularly given the variety of interruptions that had been seen on the ultimate day.
Previous to the lunch break, a weird delay occurred when a pane of glass fell from the starters’ field that overhangs the pit straight. The smashed glass on the observe required cleansing up, however fast work from the trackside personnel restricted the preliminary interruption to round 10 minutes.
🔴 RED FLAG 🔴
Particles on the beginning/end straight – seems like a pane of glass from the starter’s sales space has fallen onto the observe #F1Testing #F1 pic.twitter.com/Fi4UOHCAap
— Components 1 (@F1) February 28, 2025
The restart got here too quickly, nonetheless, with the observe going inexperienced with a quad bike — pulling a circuit cleansing machine — nonetheless returning to its authentic station. Solely Fernando Alonso made it out of the pits earlier than the purple flag returned, with the Aston Martin driver having to come back straight again in earlier than the session might resume.
There was one other brief however unusual delay after lunch, when a purple flag was thrown in response to a bus utilizing a part of the Flip 10 run-off space. The shuttle bus by no means made it onto the observe itself because it minimize behind the barrier, but it surely was within the firing line for a spell ought to any automobile have had a problem at Flip 9.
After that time, the drama was confined to group garages, with Ferrari removed from the one ones coping with a problem within the afternoon. Aston Martin needed to undergo its second driver change of the day due to Lance Stroll affected by an sickness. Stroll had been as a consequence of drive within the morning session however felt unwell in a single day, so Alonso began the day and Stroll’s makes an attempt to drive within the afternoon had been curtailed after 34 laps as he continued to battle, with Alonso returning to the automobile.
The morning had additionally seen disruption for Haas, as a part of the engine cowl flew off whereas Oliver Bearman was on the pit straight. It was an enormous piece of bodywork that indifferent and the second time it wanted addressing this week following the same concern in the course of the group’s filming day. The non permanent repair compromised nearly all of its morning operating, however Esteban Ocon managed over 100 laps within the afternoon alone and ended up with the eighth-fastest time.
You don’t see this fairly often 👀
A part of Ollie Bearman’s engine cowl comes off mid-lap 😵#F1Testing #F1 pic.twitter.com/dB7zw6gNco
— Components 1 (@F1) February 28, 2025
Headline lap instances supply little in the way in which of a aggressive image — even with some sunshine offering the most effective circumstances of a difficult week — and though Oscar Piastri was close to the highest with a 1m29.940s, it was one other sturdy race simulation that means McLaren is in a very good place heading into the brand new season.
Pierre Gasly was fifth quickest and simply 0.1s off Piastri, with Alpine additionally having fun with a stable week of operating, an enormous enchancment on 12 months in the past when the group struggled initially of the season.
