In less than a week’s time, the first points of the 2023 Formula 1 world championship will have been awarded in Bahrain.
To prepare for F1’s longest-ever season, the 10 teams and 20 drivers have only been afforded a single three-day test – at the circuit where they will race next weekend.
As ever, it is near-impossible to establish any kind of ranking of the teams from how each of them chose to spend their three days of track time. But that does not mean that some teams will not be feeling more encouraged than others about their new cars heading into a whole new season.
Here is your guide to how testing went for all ten Formula 1 teams – and how they each feel about their own performance during the pre-season.
Red Bull
Combined testing laps: 413 – 2,235km (5th)
Max Verstappen: 1’32.837 (11th) – 204 laps (10th)
Sergio Perez: 1’30.305 (1st) – 209 laps (9th)
It’s a good life, being a member of the Red Bull Racing Formula 1 team. Reigning double world champions. Winners of 30 of the last 50 grands prix contested. And after pre-season testing, the clear favourites to kick off 2023 as the team to beat once more.
The champions burst out of the gate with supreme confidence. It was warranted, as they went quickest two out of the three days of running including Sergio Perez setting comfortably the fastest time of the test on the final day – better than Charles Leclerc’s pole time from last year’s Bahrain Grand Prix.
But the most ominous signs came at the start of the second day. Verstappen casually strolled out of the garage and immediately beat his best time from the first day with his very first timed lap. Such instant speed, coupled with no notable reliability problems, will strike genuine dread into the hearts of Ferrari, Mercedes and the rest of the field before the season has even begun.
What they said:
A very successful end to the test with another day of uninterrupted running. It has been a positive three days for the team, but there are always areas for improvement, and the focus will be on trying to extract more performance gains before next week.
Gianpiero Lambiase, head of race engineering
Ferrari
Combined testing laps: 417 – 2,256km (3rd)
Charles Leclerc: 1’31.024 (4th) – 199 laps (13th)
Carlos Sainz Jnr: 1’31.036 (5th) – 218 laps (6th)
Ferrari could hardly have been happier with their 2022 pre-season, following which they stormed to their first win in over two years at the opening race and took a second just two rounds later.
But…
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