Mercedes duo leads the way on final day in Sakhir

The first pre-season test in Bahrain concluded with a Mercedes one-two at the top of the timesheets. Kimi Antonelli set the fastest lap of 1:33.669s, beating teammate George Russell by 0.249s. Behind them, Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton clocked a 1:34.209s. All three drivers, running on the C3 compound, were not only the quickest today but also recorded the fastest times overall across the three days in Sakhir.

Taking the full 24 hours of track activity from Wednesday to Friday into account, Antonelli and Russell are the only drivers to have broken the 1:34 barrier. Oscar Piastri (McLaren), who finished the day fourth, set the best times on the two hardest compounds, posting a 1:36.234s on the C2 and a 1:36.899s on the C1. However, these benchmarks still stand to the credit of Lando Norris (McLaren) for the C2 (1:34.669s) and Max Verstappen (Red Bull) for the C1 (1:35.631s).

Following yesterday’s trend, several teams focused on race simulations. Piastri pushed a set of C1s for 24 laps and a set of C2s for 22 laps. The longest runs on the C3 were completed by the two Mercedes drivers, with 18 laps each.

Mario Isola, Pirelli Motorsport Director: “These first three days of testing in Bahrain have been useful in confirming, following the shakedown week in Barcelona, that the results gathered during last year’s development tests with mule cars are sufficiently representative. Compound characteristics seem to be in line with expectations and feedback from drivers has been positive. The new compounds have maintained good mechanical resistance, reducing the appearance of graining, as verified over the last few days, and seem to keep overheating under control.

It is clear that drivers are still adapting to the power delivery system. Evidence of some flat spots on the tyres suggests that drivers may have changed their approach to corners. On corner exit, by contrast, the electric power delivery tends to make the rear axle slip, increasing the surface temperature of the tyres and causing a slight loss of grip.

Next week, we expect teams to focus more on performance runs, though likely without revealing their full potential. Combined with the race simulations from these past few days, we will have a clearer picture of what to expect for the start of the season. This will allow us to refine the compound selections for races from Miami onwards, the first event for which tyres have not yet been shipped.”

Throughout today’s 8-hour session, teams most frequently opted for the C3 compound, which covered 687 laps (48%). The C2 reached 431 laps (30%), while the hardest C1 covered 306 laps (21%). As expected, there were no surprises in these figures. Temperatures were slightly higher than on Wednesday and Thursday; the track reached 44°C (with a minimum of 27°C), while ambient air stayed between 27°C and 33°C.

Lando Norris, Pierre Gasly (Alpine), Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin), Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), and Arvin Lindblad (Racing Bulls) did not drive today.

Across the three days of testing at the Bahrain International Circuit, a total of 20.673 kilometres were covered by all cars, with 51% of that distance on the C3. Regarding sets used, the softest option (C3) saw 144 sets, compared to 79 for the C2 and 42 for the C1.

Teams and drivers now have a brief rest before the next session begins next Wednesday, again in Bahrain. While only the three hardest slick compounds were available this week, the next test will allow teams to choose an allocation of 24 sets including the full Pirelli range from C1 to C5. It will also be possible to carry over used sets of the first test week with no more than 9 laps on them.