The second and final pre-season test of the 2022 Formula 1 season got underway today, running for three days up to Saturday at Bahrain’s Sakhir circuit. First out on track in the F1-75 was Charles Leclerc, who completed 64 laps (346 km) running the Pirelli C2, C3 and C4 compound tyres. He completed the programme established for him. Charles set his best time of 1’34”531 on the C3 tyres.
Another 52 laps. During the lunch break, the mechanics carried out the usual checks and changed the set-up on the F1-75 to suit Carlos Sainz. The Spaniard went out on track around 15.30 and did 52 laps (281 km). He too used the C2, C3 and C4 compounds, setting a best time of 1’34”359 on a set of C3s. Overall therefore, the F1-75 completed 116 laps, equal to over 627 kilometres.
Programme. As was the case at the Barcelona test two weeks ago, the team had several items on the job sheet for both drivers, including car set-up, which is particularly relevant, given that the opening round of the season takes place at this track next week. Reliability testing was also on the agenda, particularly taking into account the high temperatures here (air 37 degrees, track 47). Additionally, various solutions were tried to resolve the phenomenon of “porpoising” that is affecting all these new generation cars.
Second day. Tomorrow follows the same pattern as today, with Charles first to drive, followed by Carlos in the afternoon.
Charles Leclerc #16
Our first day of testing in Bahrain is behind us. The conditions we found here are very different to those in Barcelona, especially as it is much warmer here.
This morning, everything went well. We completed the number of laps we set out to and ran all the tests we had planned to, so I’m happy with how it went.
The lap times are not representative and we are just focusing on ourselves now, keeping our heads down and working well.
Carlos Sainz #55
Another good day of testing for us, continuing where we left off in Barcelona, with similar run plans but starting to check different set-up windows.
We missed out on a final run on C3s, but in general we managed to test two or three things that were very important for us and we managed to put together a good day of running with no issues. The mechanics are working hard in the heat, which is never easy, so I thank them for the effort. We still have a couple of long days ahead, but hopefully they will be very productive ones.