12/03/2021
NEWS STORY
Early days, but Red Bull's RB16B has pace and reliability as Max Verstappen tops the timesheets and completes the most laps as testing gets underway.
Yes, yes, yes, we don't know the fuel loads or tyre strategy, but Red Bull will be heading into its debrief this evening feeling a lot happier that its Mercedes counterparts.
Though conditions were good this morning, albeit a little blustery, by the afternoon the track was engulfed in a sandstorm, which left the track surface like a skating rink and visibility at a minimum.
While Mercedes was frustrated by a gear shift change this morning and sand and poor handling in the afternoon, Max Verstappen quietly got on with the job in hand, completing 139 laps and setting the best time of the day.
The day was not without its problems for the Dutchman, who had a spin and a couple of minor offs earlier, but this appeared to be more about the conditions than any significant issue with the car.
"We had a very positive day and managed a lot of laps even though the track conditions were quite difficult," said Verstappen. "It was very warm with a lot of wind and we know the degradation is always high around here so I'm very happy with how it went.
"We aimed for this number of laps and when you can complete a full programme like this the team can also be pleased with the information we have.
"We don't need to talk about pace yet and it isn't really a discussion until we get to Q3 at the first race weekend - it's only then you see the real pace in all the cars. The main thing is that the car felt nice to drive, so it's a positive start."
"Today went well," added head of race engineering, Guillaume Rocquelin. "The conditions were pretty difficult and very windy, especially in the morning. It calmed down a bit in the afternoon but a lot of dust had been kicked up and it was very hazy and quite difficult to run in.
"In terms of objectives we're really pleased, as we had a target in terms of the number of laps we wanted to get through and a fairly busy run plan and we were able to stick to both.
"Lap time is not what it's about at this stage and I don't think Max will be getting too pumped up about being at the top of the timesheet on day one. What's more important is that we were able to follow the plan and do the laps.
"For Sergio tomorrow, the conditions should hopefully be a little better. It's not supposed to be quite as hazy, but the wind is likely to still be quite strong. The plan will be pretty much the same for Checo, so fingers crossed we're looking forward to another good day.
It was a good day also for McLaren, with Daniel Ricciardo topping the timesheets this morning and Lando Norris finishing second this afternoon, the Woking pair completing 91 laps between them.
For the most part it was a trouble-free day for the team, which is now powered by Mercedes, though a late off following a lock-up from Norris led to the deployment of the VSC.
"It was really good to get back out in the car for my first proper session with McLaren," said Ricciardo. "I was able to push the car a little bit and get more familiar with it. It was a smooth morning, everything ran well and that's all you can ask in testing - you want reliability on your side and the team back in Woking has done an awesome job of giving us a great start on day one.
"We got a good amount of runs and laps done, with a focus on getting more and more familiar and comfortable in the car. The plan for the next few days is similar, we're aiming to leave here feeling ready to go for the Bahrain Grand Prix. Happy days."
"First of all, very happy to be back in a Formula 1 car," added Norris. "It's my first time putting the MCL35M to the test in the dry. It's quite a shock to feel the speed of a Formula 1 car again, it's been a while since I've had that sensation. It was a good shock and it felt nice to be back, but not as nice with the conditions today. The second half of the day was very dusty and windy which made it tricky, so it wasn't the easiest first day back in the car.
"We spent the session going through our test programme, making sure there are no problems with the seat and that I'm comfortable in the car. We've got some things to work on from that side over the next couple of days. We'll sit down and review everything this evening, but it's been a solid first day. Thanks to everyone both here and back at the factory for all the hard work and making it such a smooth first day's running."
"It was a productive first day of testing," said team boss, Andreas Seidl. "The conditions were a bit special due to the wind and sand on the track, but actually this didn't affect the run plan very much as we could still compare data from run to run and from both drivers. We didn't have any major issues today, only small things to fix here and there which is normal on the first day running a new car. But it's only day one, and we'll keep monitoring as we accumulate mileage on the car.
"We were able to run through our planned test items - Daniel running in the morning and Lando in the afternoon - with both drivers getting an early understanding of the car. We now need to optimise the remaining two days with preparation for the first race being shorter than ever, so we need to try and be as efficient as possible."
Like Verstappen and Red Bull, Esteban Ocon had a solid day in the Alpine, the Frenchman completing 129 laps and posting a best time just 0.472s off the pace.
The Frenchman began his day with aero correlation work, with a front tyre rake fitted to the car for the opening runs. With the initial laps running smoothly, he pushed on and ran to his programme as planned with 55 laps completed before the lunch break.
Despite the change in the weather, Ocon was immediately out of the garage for the afternoon running, continuing to increase his lap count to over a century midway through the session. On the C4 tyres, he improved his lap-time to a 1:31.416.
"Everything went well today," said the Frenchman, "and it was definitely a good first day back at school! It was a solid one for the team, we completed the programme with ease and we even had time at the end of the day to do pit-stop practice with the team, which was quite nice as it meant we could get ourselves back into race situations.
"We put in some decent laps today and we learned everything we set out to achieve and that's exactly what you need during test days. We faced all kinds of conditions as well: heat this morning then strong gusts and a sandstorm this afternoon, so pretty much everything except rain. That was interesting but we did what we needed to, and I look forward to driving the car again later this weekend."
Lance Stroll spent most of the afternoon propping up the timesheets as he persisted with the same set of hard tyres, but when he finally made the switch to Pirelli's prototype rubber he improved to fourth.
This morning, teammate Sebastian Vettel set his best time on the prototype, the German finishing 13th overall.
The day was not without its problems for the Silverstone-based outfit, with Vettel stopping at the end of the pitlane with an unspecified issue earlier and Stroll missing the first ninety minutes of this afternoon's running. Nevertheless between them they completed 97 laps.
"It was a very productive morning," said Vettel, "and really the first opportunity we've had to truly put the AMR21 through its paces. As I expected, there are a lot of new things to learn. I'm working with a different power unit compared to the past, which means there are lots of new procedures involved. Then there's a new steering wheel with all its buttons, and different braking too - so I'm very aware that there is a lot to learn.
"The important thing is that I know where we can improve. It was tricky on track because it was so windy out there; you could see that everyone was fighting for grip. Today wasn't about lap times, it was about finding a good balance in the car and getting a true read on it while collecting lots of important data, which we managed by running 51 laps in the morning session. I am looking forward to going over the data tonight and continuing to make progress with the car. I think we can say it was a good first day for the AMR21."
"It was a good start," added Stroll. "Conditions were really tricky out there and you could feel the effect of the wind on the run down to Turn One, and you could feel the tailwind in certain corners too. I don't think anybody found it easy out there.
"It's early days to be making judgements on the car and we have to remember there is a cut in downforce, which you can feel in the car, and there are new tyres too. The important thing is that we made an encouraging start and it felt good to drive the AMR21. We spent the majority of today doing aero mapping and collecting plenty of useful data.
"It's great to be back in the car and really feeling the energy of the team. It is a new beginning as Aston Martin and I am enjoying working with Sebastian and getting to know how he operates. All in all, it's been a productive session and I definitely enjoyed my day in the AMR21!"
Check out our Day 1 pre-season test gallery from Bahrain, here.
Ferrari new boy, Carlos Sainz was the quicker of the Scuderia's drivers, who between them completed 116 laps.
Leclerc had an issue shortly before lunch which resulted in him stopping on track and thus bringing out the red flag. The knock-on effect was that Sainz missed the first hour of running in the afternoon.
However, the team is under no illusions that it is going to be targeting Mercedes or Red Bull any time soon, and at this stage is merely keen to leave the nightmare of 2020 well and truly in the past. Though reliability might be an issue, Sainz appeared to show that the SF21 has pace.
"In general I think today was a positive first day of testing," said Sainz, "where the target was to complete our whole run programme and we did it, so happy with that.
"I guess everyone wants to figure out the performance of each car after today, but I think it is way too early to tell, and very difficult to know in these kind of conditions - full of sand, very windy and with big variations in temperatures. All in all I think we can consider today a very good day. Thanks to everyone at the track and back at the factory. We keep working!"
"The first day in a new car is always very interesting, after all the work carried out over the winter," added Leclerc. "We completed the whole programme without any major problems and the first impression of the car is pretty good. But obviously, it's far too early to give a full assessment. Now I can't wait to get behind the wheel again tomorrow!"
With Kimi Raikkonen on the pace this morning, this afternoon teammate Antonio Giovinazzi claimed sixth overall, albeit 1.2s off the pace.
Completing 131 laps in total, the Alfa Romeo C41 has reliability but appeared, certainly in Raikkonen's hands, to be a bit of a handful.
"First day in the car for me," said Raikkonen, "so it was positive to run without any issues.
"It was quite windy and the conditions would change from corner to corner," he continued, "which made it a bit tricky, but it was the same conditions for everyone so it didn't really make a difference.
"As far as our programme went, it was a typical testing day: we tried different things, made sure everything went as planned and ticked all the boxes on our list. It's pointless to make guesses about where we stand right now, we will have to wait for the first race, but our aim is of course to move further up the grid compared to last year."
"I think we did a good job, despite the difficult conditions," added Giovinazzi. "I am happy with the car and the work the team did, taking into account it was just my first day this year. We need to keep working like this for these remaining days, of course, but we have a solid base to build on.
"After three months outside of the car, coming back behind the steering wheel is always tough, but we were helped by having a smooth day without any issue. I am hoping for another busy day like today when I am back in the car tomorrow."
"It was a very pleasing start to our week," said technical director, Jan Monchaux. "We have been through a full programme today, completing all the test items we had.
"We only have three days on the track, so it was very encouraging to be able to use our time fully with no reliability issues.
"The conditions were not ideal - the wind in the morning has the potential to cloud the behaviour of the car, as you never know if something is caused by a gust of wind or not.
"The afternoon was a bit better, the sand was annoying but it did not affect our programme and we ended up doing more laps than in the morning. We now have a night to analyse the data we collected and draw conclusions ahead of another day on track tomorrow."
The AlphaTauri pair finished the day 8th and 9th, and though the Faenza outfit only completed 111 laps in total, both drivers appeared content with their day's work.
Gasly started the morning session strong, racking up an impressive 74 laps, the highest of all drivers within the session. Finishing P2 ahead of the lunchbreak, he put in an impressive first performance as the ambient air temperature continued to rise through the morning.
The afternoon saw Yuki Tsunoda head out for his first official test. The wind and the sand, both in the air and on the track didn't make his day an easy one, but with a slightly shortened session due to an issue in the car, he could complete a total of 37 laps to finish in P9 at the end of his first day.
"Everything felt really good with the car this morning," said Gasly, "we had a positive start to testing and were able to do a lot of laps - our main goal for today.
"Running for just three days, it's important that we make the most of this time on track. We managed to complete our full testing programme for the first day and I felt very comfortable in the car. Of course, there are areas that we need to work on and improve but that's to be expected on the first day.
"The conditions today are quite tough to drive in - F1 cars don't perform well with this level of wind - which isn't great but it's good to understand how the car works in these situations, especially as the first race of the season will be at this circuit."
"It was great to experience the new car properly for the afternoon session and to complete my first official test," added Tsunoda. "Obviously, at this stage mileage and data collection is key for me - as a rookie I want to gain the most out of the only three-days of testing available and learn a lot ahead of the first race here in Bahrain.
"It's been quite a difficult afternoon session unfortunately. The weather has been bad, with the sand and wind making the conditions tricky to drive in, and then the team discovered an issue with the fuel system in my car. This meant that I had to box ahead of the end of the session - they're investigating it now though and I'll be ready to head back out on track when the lights turn green for the morning session tomorrow."
"It's great to be back on track and running the AT02 for the first proper test," said Jonathan Eddolls, the team's chief race engineer, "Pierre drove for us this morning and we completed some aero mapping and runs first thing, before getting into some longer running further into the session.
"The car performed very well in the morning, we completed our full run-plan and had no issues. We're obviously quite restricted with running this test, having only three days, so we went through our test plan and covered some good ground.
"We then swapped to Yuki in the afternoon and unfortunately it hasn't been such a smooth afternoon, for several reasons. Firstly, the sand both on-track and in the air, made it extremely difficult - so the track was quite a lot slower to begin with.
"Unfortunately, we then spotted some issues in the fuel system, which were impacting most of his laps and meant we couldn't give him any consistent runs. The session was quite compromised for him, which is a shame, but we stopped running before the chequered flag, so we could investigate the problem and fix it ahead of his running first thing tomorrow."
Check out our Day 1 pre-season test gallery from Bahrain, here.
On paper, 10th and 17th (of 17) might look to be a nightmare scenario for Mercedes, indeed commentators we shall not name are already suggesting the team is struggling.
Yes, the world champions could have done without the gear shift issue that necessitated a gearbox change this morning and restricted Valtteri Bottas to just 6 laps, but not for nothing are they world champions... seven successive times over.
This afternoon Hamilton was unhappy with his pedals and subsequently complained of a loose mirror, and though he experienced a number of offs - including three on successive laps - at one stage, when the track surface appeared to be at its worst, he was clearly having the time of his life, as he had the W12 positively dancing.
"Today definitely wasn't the cleanest of days that we've had," said the world champion, "but these things are sent to try us. Everyone has worked extremely hard to get us here. We had that mishap in the morning which was very unfortunate for Valtteri in terms of losing time on track and the team is working hard to try and understand what that was. I think they did a great job to turn the car around. The second session wasn't without its challenges, but we exist to find solutions to the problems we're faced with. We just had a good debrief and we'll keep working away.
"I've never seen a sandstorm come through here before in all the years that I've driven at this circuit. The sand was moving like rain would move. Having sand on the tyres isn't good for their longevity and getting consistency on long runs is difficult. Over a single lap it isn't the worst, but you need lots of laps at this time of year to get data.
"We have no choice but to take the positives. I remember in 2007 during testing I had 10 days in the car and now it's getting less and less. We only have a day and a half in the car before the first race, with different tyres and different aero modifications so it's not easy but it's the same for everyone. I'd like to think my nine years' experience with this team will help me get the best out of it."
"The whole team was looking forward to getting on track but on the install lap we noticed an issue with the gearbox," added Bottas, "so we had to localise the problem and change the gearbox which takes quite a bit of time. Only at the end of the morning session could we get back out for a few more laps before the red flag. A total of six laps for me, all with aero rakes on the car so not much running today and not an ideal start.
"In recent years things have been pretty much bulletproof so it's not a familiar experience. The good thing is that this year if you miss some running you can hopefully catch up because of the mileage limitation linked to the cost cap efficiencies. I am confident we can recover and I'm looking forward to two good days over the weekend."
"It's been a poor start to the season from us today," admitted Andrew Shovlin. "We lost more or less the whole morning with Valtteri with a gearbox problem and our workload over lunch meant we were late joining the afternoon session with Lewis.
"Once we got running it was clear we didn't have the car in the right balance window and while we made some progress during the day, we're not happy with how the car is performing and it's pretty clear we have some work to do.
"We're quite a way behind on our test programme and need to find a bit of balance and speed but we have two days left and every opportunity to recover the situation. "
Despite the question mark as to what exactly he is doing in the car, certainly for a whole day, Roy Nissany gave a good account of himself, staying out of trouble and completing 83 laps.
Furthermore, finishing ahead of both Haas drivers - and Bottas - must surely give George Russell and Nicholas Latifi hope for the remaining days of the test.
"Conditions were tough throughout the day," said Dave Robson, the Grove outfit's head of vehicle performance, "with high temperatures, strong winds and a lot of sand on the track this afternoon. This made performance testing very difficult, however, we were able to change focus to data gathering and operational practice, including pitstops and race start simulations.
"Roy did a very good job in the difficult conditions, making no mistakes as he and his engineers worked nicely through their programme. He provided valuable feedback throughout the day, including on the new 2021 Pirelli tyres, which we had previously only run for a limited time at the final races of last season.
"We have plenty to look through tonight as we continue our preparation for the race here in a few weeks' time, but there were no issues with the car today and we are now in a good position to push it harder tomorrow. Hopefully the conditions will improve enough overnight to allow Nicholas the opportunity to try a range of test items as he begins to optimise the FW43B ready for racing."
"I think it was a strong first day," added Nissany, "even with the poor conditions where we experienced a lot of sand and dust in the air.
"We got the most out of the car and I am happy with my performance, and I think the engineers were as well. We collected all of the data that we wanted and tested a lot of items so it has definitely been a very productive day, a lot of fun and a great opening to the season."
Like Bottas earlier, Mick Schumacher had a hydraulics issue that necessitated a change of gearbox and consequently the German only completed 15 laps.
The German returned in the final half hour of the session to grab a handful of laps before the checquered flag - running on the C2 exclusively in the morning. However, his last stint was compromised by the on-set of a sandstorm and accompanying winds - as well as a brief red flag stoppage for the stricken Ferrari of Leclerc.
In the afternoon, Nikita Mazepin put another 70 laps on the VF-21 and despite a scare at T11, the Russian kept out of trouble.
The Russian sampled three different sets of Pirelli's compounds, starting off on the C2 before progressing up to the softer C3 and C3 prototypes. It was on the C3 he set his fastest time a 1:34.798.
Early days or not, the Haas is clearly off the pace, and with no updates expected in the coming months the pair face a tough year ahead.
"It was great to be in a Formula 1 car again," said Schumacher, "but obviously I'd have loved to have had more laps. It would have been great to get those laps in that we lost sitting in the garage due to the hydraulic issue.
"Fortunately, we got a few laps in at the end. I was happy to take them, happy to be in the car, and happy to push at times and try some things.
"Conditions weren't great with a sandstorm coming in, but it was still valuable time in the car. It's been very gusty here - it makes it very unpredictable; it can feel different from corner to corner really. That's something you have to get used to. F1 cars these days are very wind-affected, any little gust of wind sets off the car massively. I think that's why we saw quite a few spins and moments on track today. It'll be interesting to see how it is tomorrow. Hopefully it'll be better than today and we get to do a lot of laps."
"It's been an amazing day to be honest," added Mazepin. "I was very fortunate to have a smooth afternoon. As we've seen with the first day of running, things don't always go the way you planned - but it was important to get laps under our belt. It was also a very nice feeling to try the car for real after so much hypothetical build-up, and also what you plan to do can be very different in real life.
"The conditions have been rather challenging because of the amount of sand and wind that we've had. I've been to Bahrain a lot and never seen this much sand, it was challenging, but in this sport you don't get to choose. All these factors have made for an interesting day and a very good learning day. I was also very happy with the physical side of things. Obviously, the graduation from F2 to F1 is rather big, but for a first day I'm very satisfied."
"We had a difficult start to our morning with a hydraulic systems issue on Mick's car," said team boss, Guenther Steiner. "He didn't get a lot of laps, which isn't ideal, but he got his first outing in the new car which is a good thing, and his feedback off those laps was good. Hopefully he'll have a better day tomorrow, and we're confident that will happen.
"In the afternoon with Nikita the car was working flawlessly. We got a good amount of laps in. The conditions this afternoon were very difficult considering this was the first time he was having a proper run in a Haas F1 car. His feedback was good, and he showed he started to understand our car.
"We just need to get as many laps in as we can over the next two days. We need to give the guys time in the car and keep growing together."
Moving forwards, while the likes of Mercedes will be focussing on reliability, let's hope that the wind doesn't compromise running again tomorrow. That said, watching Hamilton was worth the price of admission alone.
Check out our Day 1 pre-season test gallery from Bahrain, here.