Bouncing Formula 1 cars are a thing of the past, that is the conclusion after the first day of testing in Bahrain. Ferrari is confident despite small mistakes, Mercedes sees itself at a “good starting point”. Verstappen drives best time and most laps.
World champion Max Verstappen set the pace again at the beginning of the test drives for the new Formula 1 season. The 25-year-old Dutchman turned the fastest lap in his Red Bull in Bahrain in 1:32.837 minutes, closely followed by ex-world champion Fernando Alonso for his new racing team Aston Martin (0.029). With 157 laps, Verstappen completed by far the most test kilometers. The lead over the Ferrari duo Carlos Sainz (0.416) and Charles Leclerc (0.430) was just under half a second.
A dent formed on the nose of the Ferrari at top speed caused a stir. The air pressure seemed to dent the car in a small spot above the front wing, and the dent disappeared again when braking. Reports said that a component could have been installed incorrectly at this point or had given way – but this did not cause any major problems, despite the unusual pictures. Instead, the corresponding area should be reinforced and the dent will disappear permanently. “We had no problems. We were able to go through with our plan,” said the new Ferrari team boss Frederic Vasseur with confidence.
An important first finding was the lack of bouncing of the 2023 cars. The “jumping” of the cars was a much-discussed topic at the beginning of the pre-season, only in the course of the year did the problem get a little better under control. “Last year the cars jumped around like kangaroos. Not anymore,” said Vasseur. Head of Mercedes Motorsport Toto Wolff was also confident: “We didn’t have any bouncing, that’s very positive. The balance with the car was reasonable. I think that’s a good starting point for us.”
Record world champion Lewis Hamilton (0.671) was sixth in the black Silver Arrow, George Russell (1.337) was ninth. Nico Hülkenberg, the only regular German driver in the field this year, completed 51 laps in his Haas and finished eleventh (1.587).
Before the record season with 23 Grands Prix, the racing teams are testing their new cars on the desert Bahrain International Circuit until Saturday. However, the times only allow conclusions to a limited extent, because nobody knows exactly which programs the competitors are running. The season also starts in Bahrain next week.
