Have the cards been revealed? Not entirely. On the last day of testing on the Shakir track, the activity on the track was more familiar, that is long-run and qualifying simulations that made it possible to evaluate the potential of the various teams more reliably.
And more familiar were the feedbacks, which Max Verstappen proposed in front of everyone and with a wide margin. We are close to a truthful scenario, but not yet perfectly corresponding to the values in the field.
Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB18, with a satisfied Helmut Marko
Photo by: Motorsport Images
Verstappen is a staple, and to say it is not so much the best time of the day as the euphoric face of Helmut Marko. It was a long day that lived in the Red Bull garage, because the arrival of the technical updates yesterday night put the technicians in front of a watershed: on the one hand the possibility of worsening a good but not excellent situation, on the other a important step forward hoped for by Verstappen and the whole team.
Thanks to Marko, it didn’t take long to understand the results of the tests, and the qualifying simulation in the final minutes of the day was just a final confirmation.
According to some opponents, Red Bull used the power unit in a mode very close to the qualifying one, taking on a slightly higher amount of fuel than is used in the fast lap.
The result was a very fast time, which however does not fully unmask the potential of the car. Red Bull favorite? Yes, but not with a margin not yet fully defined.
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari F1-75
Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images
The Ferraristi are especially hoping that this is not much. At the end of the six days of pre-season tests, the Scuderia emerged in the role of first challenger, and even in this case it is not so much the lap time (which in any case confirms Leclerc in second position) to certify everything.
In the paddock it is whispered that the F1-75 is a couple of tenths from Red Bull, a much lower margin than what today’s ranking says.
Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, at the press conference
Photo by: FIA Pool
Even Leclerc in his fastest lap simulation did not take to the track with the qualifying ‘power unit-petrol load configuration’ combination, uncovering only part of the cards, but for the Scuderia the step forward confirmed today by Red Bull is not it was welcome news.
The starting point for a long and intense season remains very good, but the backlash of Adrian Newey’s team has hit the mark.
George Russell, Mercedes W13
Photo by: Motorsport Images
And the Mercedes? He pursues, in an unprecedented role of third force. Red Bull has raised the bar, and the gap on the W13 has increased. There is talk of half a second, a margin that does not affect anything in the long run but which makes the appointment of the Bahrain Grand Prix like a stage to be played in defense.
The project is not up for discussion, but three days of testing were not enough to focus on an aerodynamically unprecedented car. Last year Mercedes managed the miracle of reversing the (very difficult) test results in their favor with the result of the race, won by Hamilton, but twelve months later the situation seems more complex.
Detail of the Mercedes W13 with the bulkhead cut to reduce porpoising
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Video conference briefings between the Sakhir circuit and the Brackley headquarters will begin tomorrow morning to try to clarify the problems that afflict the W13, but there is not much optimism on the stage spoils to be aspired to in the first race of the season.
In the final top-10 that concluded the Sakhir tests, Fernando Alonso’s third fastest time and Valtteri Bottas’s fifth stand out. Both completed a real qualifying simulation, among the very few to play with their cards face up. For the rest, the evaluations are postponed to next week, seven days that will be very long for those who are called to solve unexpected problems but also for those who can’t wait to confirm what emerged from these tests on weight rankings.
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