Ferrari and Leclerc, absolute best time. Mercedes struggles

Very fast with the Pirelli C4 tyres, so much so that in this morning’s session he set the absolute best time of the three-day test in 1’31″024, but less performing in managing the medium C3 tyres. Charles Leclerc he covered 67 laps before handing over the Ferrari SF-23 to Carlos Sainz, carrying out various types of tests. But it became clear, as in recent days, that after seven-eight laps, with the yellow-banded Pirellis, Leclerc was no longer able to be incisive and had to ride in a different way, almost defensively, due to the too rapid wear suffered from the tyres. The dry performance put on the track by Ferrari remains comforting and this is certainly an excellent sign.

The Mercedes he finished the session in second place with George Russell. To seal the time of 1’31″442, the Englishman had to mount the Pirelli C5s, the softer ones, remaining 4 tenths behind Ferrari. There is no optimism in the Anglo-German team’s garage and team principal Toto himself Wolff clearly let it be known that, despite being the base of the W14 much better than the disastrous W13, despite having solved the problems of the previous single-seater, the performances are still not satisfactory compared to Red Bull and Ferrari.And this sounds like a bitter rejection even if Wolff then declared that on the basis of what was seen in Sakhir, there will soon be numerous changes.

The Aston Martin-Mercedes continues to surprise, this morning entrusted to rookie Felipe Drugovich. The Brazilian, 2022 Formula 2 champion, is in the predicament of taking Lance Stroll’s place in the Bahrain GP if the Canadian fails to recover after a bicycle crash that forced him to stay away from his car. Drugovich is working very well and the third time, with C5 tyres, of 1’32″075 is comforting for Lawrence Stroll’s team. The Italian engineer Luca Furbatto, who has been with Aston Martin since last year, has not hidden that the AMR23 could to be the third force in the world championship.

Red Bull-Honda used Sergio Perez not looking for time. With the C3s, the Mexican clocked up a time of 1’32″459 by completing a series of short stints. As already emerged in the previous rounds, the RB19 proved to have an excellent balance with each type of tire used and even after several revs.A sign of an excellently made chassis and, moreover, it could not be otherwise being the son of that of the dominant RB18 of 2022.

Fifth place for Alpine-Renault which seems reluctant to launch some high notes. And the feeling is that there is no hiding in those parts. Bad sign for a team part of a great manufacturer such as the French one. Pierre Gasly with the C3 brought the time of 1’32″762 into the garage ahead of the Williams-Mercedes of Alexander Albon, 1’32″793, but with C5 tyres. Even for Williams the news does not appear very positive if with the same compound it remains seven tenths behind Aston Martin. Albon used a different front wing than the one used in the first two days.

Nico Hulkenberg is offering Haas-Ferrari the usual solidity from a handling point of view. The VF-33 appears reliable, but not particularly bright at the moment. The German did better than an increasingly unwatchable McLaren-Mercedes. We expected an MCL60 at the level of at least the Aston Martin, which uses the same engine, but things are going differently. Oscar Piastri, also author of a spin, struggles a lot as already seen in the other sessions by the much more experienced Lando Norris. High times for the Sauber Alfa Romeo-Ferrari of Valtteri Bottas, who had to finish the morning’s work by parking on the side of the track due to a gearbox (or engine) problem, and for the Alpha Tauri-Honda of Nyck De Vries, for them only tests with a full load of petrol.

Saturday 25 February 2023, 3rd day morning

1 – Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) – 1’31″024 – 67 on tire C4
2 – George Russell (Mercedes) – 1’31″442 – 82 – C5
3 – Felipe Drugovich (Aston Martin – Mercedes) – 1’32″075 – 77 – C5
4 – Sergio Perez (Red Bull-Honda) – 1’32″459 – 69 – C3
5 – Pierre Gasly (Alpine-Renault) – 1’32″762 – 56 – C3
6 – Alexander Albon (Williams-Mercedes) – 1’32″793 – 53 – C5
7 – Nico Hulkenberg (Haas-Ferrari) – 1’33″329 – 77 – C3
8 – Oscar Piastri (McLaren-Mercedes) – 1’33″655 – 44 – C3
9 – Valtteri Bottas (Sauber-Ferrari) – 1’36″854 – 72 – C3

10 – Nyck De Vries (Alpha Tauri-Honda) – 1’38″244 – 87 – C3 Read the full article
on The Messenger