The 2023 Formula 1 pre-season testing has officially ended in Bahrain with Perez topping the timings chart in Bahrain.
Early into the final day of the pre-season testing, Charles Leclerc set a lap of 1m 31.024s on C4 tyres. The lap stood until the floodlights got on and track temperatures decreased. This is when most drivers opted to fit C4 and C5 Tyre compounds for short runs.
Red bull driver Sergio Perez went all guns blazing breaking last year’s pole lap by setting a lap time of 1m 30.305s on the same C4 Tyres.
Leclerc ultimately slipped to fourth position as Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton also put on an impressive lap of 1m 30.664s on C5s.
The morning session on Saturday saw a brief red flag moment because of a few pieces of debris fell off Perez’s RB19. The Red bull driver and Verstappen teammate clocked 133 laps in total on Saturday as the Mexican drove during both sessions while defending champion Max Verstappen analyzed from the pitwall.
Alfa Romeo again showed impressive signs coming in 1m30s with Valterri Bottas. Bottas completed a total of 131 laps on Saturday coming third after his teammate Zhou came first on Friday keeping Max Verstappen from Red bull at bay.
Red bull is showing positive signs again for the 2023 season. The defending champions have been in top form throughout the testing. However, Ferrari and Mercedes can’t be underestimated. Both teams are known for sandbagging.
With pre-season testing now completed, everyone’s eyes are on the opening race of the 2023 season. F1 will again return to Bahrain for the season opener on the 3rd of March.
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