The final day of Formula 1 pre-season testing saw Charles Leclerc and Scuderia Ferrari finish at the top of the timesheets on Friday in Bahrain. We look closer at the post-test reactions from the teams and drivers as they gear up to embark on an unprecedented 24-race championship journey.
Formula One pre-season testing action concluded on Friday with Ferrari leading the timesheets at the hands of Charles Leclerc, who set a lap time of 1:30.322 on the C4 compound, four-hundredths of a second ahead of George Russell’s Mercedes to wrap up proceedings.
“The feeling is better than the base we started from last year. Now, it’s full focus on the race, and I can’t wait to be back on track next week,” said the Monegasque driver.
Zhou Guanyu took P3 for Sauber, recording a time of 1:30.647 toward the end of the session, while Max Verstappen finished P4 for Red Bull Racing, recording the fastest time on a medium tire on Day 3.
#F1TESTING: DAY 3 CLASSIFICATION
Leclerc on top ahead of our first race next *Saturday*#F1 pic.twitter.com/6ZMUFAnLAf
— Formula 1 (@F1) February 23, 2024
Over three days of intense running at the Bahrain International Circuit, the Scuderia first topped the charts on Thursday, setting the fastest time of Day 2 (1:29.921) with Carlos Sainz.
He would also headline the field on Friday morning before handing over the SF-24 to Leclerc, who took over in the afternoon.
On Thursday and Friday, the morning sessions were red-flagged due to track repairs, as a rain drainage cover at Turn 11 came unstuck cutting.
Throughout testing, running from Wednesday through Friday, the Spaniard was the fastest man of a 20-racer grid.
“Overall, it has been a good day, despite the red flag that disrupted the running a bit, but I enjoyed every single lap in the car today,” asserted Sainz.
“We tested a lot of different configurations to collect as much data as possible. The car seems to be in a decent place, and I am proud of the work the team has done to complete such a solid test program.”
The Prancing Horse from Maranello completed 423 laps, equivalent to 2,257 kilometers, an encouraging testing journey for a team eager to stop Red Bull’s dominant winning streak.
Meanwhile, Sergio Perez and the RB20 ended P2 on the second day, clocking a time of 1:30.679; Lewis Hamilton and the W15 finished third, recording a 1:31.066 lap time.
The inaugural day of testing saw Verstappen at work from sunrise to sunset in Sakhir, maximizing an entire program on board Adrian…
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