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F1 Testing Day 3 Report | Ferrari and Red Bull quick, concerns for McLaren
- Cameron Smith
Formula One testing before the 2022 season is officially over. The three days in Barcelona have been followed by a further three days in Bahrain, which have been concluded, with Red Bull driver Max Verstappen ending testing with the fastest time of all.
The Dutch driver set a lap time of 1:31.720, which was good enough to end the final day in P1 and the only time in the 1:31s throughout testing. Red Bull's reigning Drivers' Championship beat Charles Leclerc to top spot, who was 0.695 seconds behind the Red Bull star.
Right at the end of the session Alpine's Fernando Alonso went third fastest, to show promise for the team, but he appeared on low fuel.
George Russell, in his brand new Mercedes with its revolutionary sidepods, struggled to get to grips with the car, with the Brit unable to find the correct balance in the cockpit. Porpoising has affected Mercedes the most, and it resulted in the former Williams driver languishing near the bottom for much of his stint before eventually putting in a lap time of 1:32.759, which was fourth quickest.
Day Three Standings
P1 - Max Verstappen (1:31.720)
P2 - Charles Leclerc
P3 - Fernando Alonso
P4 - George Russell
P5 - Valtteri Bottas
P6 - Yuki Tsunoda
P7 - Sergio Perez
P8 - Mick Schumacher
P9 - Lando Norris
P10 - Sebastian Vettel
P11 - Guanyu Zhou
P12 - Pierre Gasly
P13 - Carlos Sainz
P14 - Alex Albon
P15 - Nicholas Latifi
P16 - Lance Stroll
P17 - Lewis Hamilton
P18 - Kevin Magnussen
Ferrari and Red Bull set the standard
While it was a battle between Red Bull and Mercedes last year, it looks set to be a clash between Christian Horner's team and the one of Mattia Binotto. While Leclerc led the way for the majority of day three, Verstappen leapfrogged the Monegasque driver in the closing stages of the final hour.
The pair, however, look to be the quickest, and the two teams with the best balance on their cars. While other Constructors' have struggled with the new regulations causing porposing and issues with sliding, these two don't appear to have the same problems.
Furthermore, with the driver line-ups the two teams have at their disposal, it's no surprise they are the favourites.
Mercedes in need of improvements
Mercedes may have ended the day with the fourth quickest time, but Russell was grabbling with his car all afternoon, and even by the end of the day he wasn't able to get to grips with it.
He was forced to correct his turns at almost every corner on his fast laps, and the porposoing caused him mroe issues than any other driver on the grid.
Improvements in their speed is needed, but also in regards to how their car handles.
McLaren really struggling
After looking so promising in Barcelona, McLaren have had a nightmare test in Bahrain. Daniel Ricciardo tested positive for COVID, forcing Lando Norris to complete all the running, but their on-track performances is far more concerning.
The speed doesn't seem right there, and their reliability isn't either. As a light car they have seemingly sacrificed some reliability for pace, but they don't even have the pace.
From looking the fourth best before heading to Bahrain
Midfield battle set to be supreme
While the title battle will be intruiging again, the midfield battle will be similarly awesome. The reason why is because the third day proved everyone looks on a fairly level playing field. The order doesn't look set in stone, or even close to being set in stone.
Aston Martin have had a fairly interesting day three, Yuki Tsunoda showed the potential of the AlphaTauri car, while Valtteri Bottas hinted at an Alfa Romeo comeback.
Fernando Alonso also put in a stellar lap right at the end of qualifying.