The last day of the final pre-season test of 2022 saw Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc work on a programme which was the mirror image of yesterday’s. Overall, the Scuderia Ferrari drivers did 119 laps, equivalent to 644 kilometres, thus bringing the total over the three days to 349 laps (1.889 km). It means that prior to 15 (13 CET) this coming Friday, when the first free practice for the Bahrain Grand Prix gets underway, the F1-75 will have completed a total of 788 laps (3.941 km) between the Barcelona and Sakhir tests, more than any of its competitors.
Morning. Carlos was out on track shortly after 10 local (8 CET) and ran for the majority of the session on the C3 compound, continuing to work on car set-up. Right at the start though, the Spaniard did some laps on the harder C2 tyre and Pirelli’s softest, the C5. It was with this that Carlos set his best time of 1’34”905. He did 68 laps in all, or 368 km, making his total over the three days 180 laps (974 km).
Afternoon. Once again, during the lunchbreak prior to the afternoon session, the mechanics adapted the F1-75 to suit Charles who first tackled some qualifying runs before switching to race simulations. With less fuel on board, the Monegasque began with the C2 tyres, before also using the C3, C4 and C5. His best time was 1’32”415, set on the C4 compound. In the final half hour, after some time was lost as a stranded car was brought back to the pits, Leclerc finally did a long run with a high fuel load. He ran a total of 51 laps (276 km) bringing his three-day total to 169 laps (914 km).
Mattia Binotto, Team Principal & Managing Director
We cannot draw any definite conclusions, because it will take a few races before we can get a picture of the pecking order among the teams. However, what we can say now is that these past few days have been positive for us.
We were well prepared for these test sessions, as can be seen from the fact we were able to run consistently, without any significant issues, which allowed us to complete more laps than any other team. Our main aim was to gather as much data as possible to understand this completely new car, correlating it with what we had from our tools back in the factory, primarily the simulator.
It’s very hard to say where we are in performance terms and there’s no reason why the frontrunners from last season should not once again be the favourites. We will try to be ahead of the chasing pack, which I hope to be very evenly matched.
Our car is a good basis on which to build and to maximise its potential given that, with such a long season, car development will play a vital role.
Charles and Carlos came into these tests in great shape and they have made a major contribution to us getting the most out of these days.
Finally, it’s great to see so many different interpretations of the rules among all the teams. We can expect a very interesting season!