The F1 peloton is holding winter testing in Bahrain for three days, and we’re letting you watch them together. This article from the last day of these tests will be updated throughout the day as incidents and events unfold.
The lap table will also be updated regularly, as the drivers turn around and improve the times. In parallel, we also hold a live video, which does not broadcast the tests, but in which we share all the information and photos of the live.
We are together for three days from 8 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. and from 1:15 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. to follow all of these tests.
Max Verstappen, Guanyu Zhou and Logan Sargeant are done with their tests, so Sergio Pérez, Valtteri Bottas and Alex Albon will be back all day at Red Bull, Alfa Romeo F1 and Williams respectively.
morning session
7h50: This morning, in addition to Pérez, Zhou and Sargeant, we find Felipe Drugovich at Aston Martin. The Brazilian has already driven half a day on Thursday, and is possibly preparing to replace Lance Stroll for the Bahrain Grand Prix next week.
7h58: The weather is obviously perfect on this last day in Bahrain, and the pilots will therefore be able to work with conditions similar to the previous days.
8h00 : Green flag! Almost all the teams are on track for an installation lap, with the exception of Haas and Mercedes, whose second day was complicated.
8h02 : George Russell takes to the track.
8h06 : Nico Hülkenberg took to the track, meaning all ten teams did at least one setup lap
8h07: Fred Vasseur spoke quickly to F1 TV: “So far so good, the tests are still intense but it’s ok. It’s difficult to have a precise idea because we don’t know what the others are doing. But let’s say we have room to progress. We are at least in the top 10 teams!” he joked.
8h08 : Red flag! A debris is in full trajectory. He fell from Pérez’s Red Bull.
8:09: Green flag! The debris has been picked up, and the pilots will be able to resume the track.
8h16: Hülkenberg, Russell, Drugovich, Pérez and Bottas are in line.
8h21: Only Albon and Gasly haven’t set a time, and Gasly has only done two laps so far.
8h27: Russell and Bottas have already reached ten laps this morning, while Drugovich, Hülkenberg and Albon have done 8. Only Gasly is still stuck at two laps.
8h33: Pierre Gasly is back on track, alongside Russell, Bottas and Leclerc.
8:37: Leclerc is third and Gasly fourth.
8h41: Pérez is now third, and it is now Nyck de Vries who has covered the fewest kilometers, because he rode with probe grids this morning, and the team takes the time to dismantle them.
8:42: Head-to-tail for Oscar Piastri! Arriving at the hairpin, the McLaren driver is trapped by the bumps. No harm for the MCL60, and the rider continues on the track despite a flat right front tire.
8h46 : Alex Albon has completed 13 installation laps, so he has no time yet.
8:48: Note that Alpine sports a brand new rear wing, which looks more like that of Red Bull.
8h53: Russell set the best time in 1’31.707 on soft tyres, a very good time less than a tenth of Verstappen’s best time yesterday.
8h54 : Gasly moves up to second place, just ahead of Pérez.
8h59: Pérez, De Vries and Albon are currently on the track. The latter has finally set a time and is running on soft tyres. His time should quickly progress.
The time table at 8:58
| Pos. | Pilot | Car | Temps | Tours |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | George Russell | Mercedes W14 | 1:31.707 | 15 |
| 02 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine Renault A523 | 1:33.104 | 12 |
| 03 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull Honda RBPT RB19 | 1:33.167 | 19 |
| 04 | Nico Hülkenberg | Haas Ferrari VF-23 | 1:33.329 | 13 |
| 05 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren Mercedes MCL60 | 1:33.655 | 13 |
| 06 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari SF-23 | 1:34.090 | 9 |
| 07 | Felipe Drugovich | Aston Martin Mercedes AMR23 | 1:37.691 | 11 |
| 08 | Valtteri Bottas | Alfa Romeo Ferrari C43 | 1:38.609 | 15 |
| 09 | Nyck de Vries | AlphaTauri Honda RBPT AT04 | 1:39.218 | 9 |
| 10 | Alex Albon | Williams Mercedes FW45 | 1:40.908 | 16 |
| 11 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin Mercedes AMR23 | – :—.— | 0 |
| 12 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas Ferrari VF-23 | – :—.— | 0 |
| 13 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine Renault A523 | – :—.— | 0 |
| 14 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari SF-23 | – :—.— | 0 |
| 15 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes W14 | – :—.— | 0 |
| 16 | Lando Norris | McLaren Mercedes MCL60 | – :—.— | 0 |
| 17 | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri Honda RBPT AT04 | – :—.— | 0 |
