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08.59 Carlos Sainz with prototype tires sets all the partial records and is 1: 33.767 with 1,128 advantage over Verstappen.
08.57 Verstappen closes a lap in 1: 37.688, while Zhou rises to third place with a 1: 36.266 with medium tire. Attention, Sainz sets the record in T1!
08.55 Oscar Piastri proceeds with several laps at constant speed returning to the pit lane. McLaren is one of the cars that needs to improve the most compared to a literally disastrous 2022…
G’day @OscarPiastri 👋 #F1 #F1Testing pic.twitter.com/RPHIDvEgX1
— Formula 1 (@F1) February 23, 2023
08.53 Even if it will only start rolling from tomorrow afternoon, Sergio Perez is also present in the Red Bull pits. The Mexican has appeared very busy these days. Will he be able to stay closer to his illustrious teammate?
08.51 Very quick stop and Verstappen is back in action. Gasly and Piastri are on the track together with the world champion. The Australian makes an installation lap and returns to the pits.
✨ F1 cars back on track ✨
You love to see it! 🤩#F1 #F1Testing pic.twitter.com/Qb8nfafYZG
— Formula 1 (@F1) February 23, 2023
08.49 Verstappen returns to the pits after 10 laps in total. Here is the provisional ranking:
| 1 | 33 | M. Verstappen (M) | Red Bull | 1’34″895 | 7 | ||
| 2 | 10 | P. Gasly (D) | Alpine | +02″112 | 1’37″007 | 7 | |
| 3 | 27 | N. Hulkenberg (D) | Haas | +02″165 | 1’37″060 | 7 | |
| 4 | 63 | G. Russell (D) | Mercedes | +03″428 | 1’38″323 | 11 | |
| 5 | 55 | C. Sainz (M) | Ferrari | +03″557 | 1’38″452 | 8 | |
| 6 | 22 | Y. Tsunoda (B) | AlphaTauri | +07″591 | 1’42″486 | 9 | |
| 7 | 81 | O. Plates (D) | McLaren | +54’20″660 | 1 | ||
| 8 | 24 | G. Zhou (P) | Alfa Romeo | 4 | |||
| 9 | 23 | A. Albon (B) | Williams | 8 | |||
| 10 | 34 | F. Drugovich (M) | Aston Martin |
08.47 Red Bull is really impressing. The machine already appears flawless, stable and efficient. In the case of the Milton Keynes car it really seems that the winter break did not exist…
08.45 Gasly improves and reaches 1: 36.430 at 775 thousandths. The Frenchman from Alpine proceeds with medium tyres. Max Verstappen, on the other hand, flies with record sectors one after the other and shoots a 1:34.895.
08.43 Albon with Williams comes into action, while Tsunoda scores a 1: 40.409 at 4.754 from Verstappen,
08.41 Carlos Sainz returns to the pits after a few laps of aerodynamic work.
08.39 Now it is Gasly with the Alpine who climbs to second place at 1,352 from the top, while Sainz with medium tires scores a 1: 38.452 and is fifth at 2,797. The Spaniard proceeds at a constant speed to work on aerodynamics.
08.37 The world champion scores an interesting 1: 35.655, in second place we find the returning Hulkenberg at 1.405 with prototype rubber.
08.35 Verstappen is on the track with medium tires. Red Bull is the only one that isn’t fitting aerodynamic grilles. From that point of view, the RB19 will, as always, be the reference car…
08.33 We remind you that at 12.00 there will be a break. One hour stop and then start again from 13.00 to 17.30.
08.31 Traffic in Sakhir! Everyone on the track immediately to make up for lost time…
08.30 LET’S START ONCE AGAIN! Finally removed the red flag on the track. An infinite payback for Drugovich’s car.
08.27 Let’s take advantage of this break to talk about one of the needles of the F1 balance of this era, namely the tyres: the front tires will have a reinforced structure which will allow the inflation pressures to be lowered, regaining grip on the front end and combating the unwelcome phenomenon of understeer. An important change for the teams, who will have to calibrate the balance and thermal management of the compounds accordingly to make the most of them.
08.24 Recovery operations of truly unnerving length. The car has not yet been definitively loaded. Waiting…
08.22 Finally the Aston Martin is loaded on the truck. Soon we will be back in action. Really long pause for a very simple problem… let’s hope the shift can go smoothly…
08.20 The recovery operations of Drugovich’s car are very slow. We don’t understand why. The aerodynamic grilles are being packaged, then we will move on to moving the Aston Martin.
08.18 Drugovich’s car has not yet been taken off the track. Waiting for the restart. At the moment full sun in Sakhir, high temperatures, of course. We’ll see if the works change when it comes to Grand Prix time, i.e. at sunset. It is not impossible to think that from 4.00 pm the race simulations will be rehearsed.
08.16 As seen so far, Red Bull is proposing a RB19 which represents an evolution of the dominant RB18. Newey dared further in some details. Improving an almost perfect car isn’t easy, could the English “genius” have done it?
08.14 While waiting for the red flag to be removed, we propose the times set at the moment …
- Verstappen, Red Bull, 1m37.780s – 3 laps
- Russell, Mercedes, 1m38.692s – 6 laps
- Sainz, Ferrari, 1m40.434s – 4 laps
- Tsunoda, AlphaTauri, 1m42,476s – 4 laps
08.13 The Brazilian Drugovich is forced to park his car in T2. Not exactly the start of the season that a stable could dream of…
08.12 Russell improves again and drops to 1: 38.323 at 543 thousandths. Right away RED FLAG But!!! Aston Martin stops!!
08.10 Piastri mounts huge grids on his McLaren. All the teams immediately want to understand if the aerodynamic flows studied in the wind tunnel will also be confirmed on the track. Sainz improves and moves to 1:38.899 at 1.119 from Verstappen who has already returned to the pits after 3 laps. Russell 1:38.692 takes him out of second position.
08.08 Verstappen immediately starts strong and flies in 1: 37.780 with medium tires. 2,654 margin over Sainz. Tsunoda closes in 1:42.486 with soft rubber. Gasly also enters the track with Alpine and Piastri on McLaren.
08.07 Sainz closes the first lap launched in 1: 40.434 with medium tires, while Russell stops at 1: 41.124 at 690 thousandths but with hard tires.
08.06 Alexander Albon also takes action with an increasingly blue Williams
08.05 And here is also Max Verstappen! On the RB19 a lot of paint on the rear wing. Car that looks really identical to the one from 2022… we’ll try to understand the details that Adrian Newey must have studied!
08.03 Zhou with Alfa Romeo and Drugovich with Aston Martin are also in action immediately. We’ll see if they’re just installation laps or if they’ll start getting serious right away.
08.01 The first to take to the track is George Russell with a W14 which has significant grids behind the front tires. Together with him Sainz, with the same grids.
08.00 GREEN LIGHT!! SNAP DAY-1 OF SAKHIR TESTS!!!!!!!!! The 2023 Formula One season begins!!!!
07.58 Who will we see engaged in today’s shift? Red Bull: Verstappen all day. Ferrari: Sainz in the morning, Leclerc in the afternoon. McLaren: Piastri/Norris. Aston Martin: Drugovich/Alonso. Alpine: Gasly/Ocon. Mercedes: Russell/Hamilton. Alfa Romeo: Zhou/Bottas. Haas: Hulkenberg/Magnussen, Williams: Albon/Sergeant.
07.55 We remind you that in the three days of Bahrain we will not see Lance Stroll in action who was injured in an accident while cycling in Spain. His presence, apparently, is also in doubt in view of the GP which will take place over the course of next weekend. We’ll see if the Canadian will be able to recover…
07.52 Even if there are no points up for grabs yet, the three-day event in Bahrain will be fundamental. The teams will have to understand immediately if the project is right, evaluate the reliability of the cars and evaluate every creak. Realizing that the design of the single-seater was wrong would be a disaster given that time is running out and there are basically no opportunities to make up for lost time.
07.49 Curiosity, of course, is immense. We’ll see how technicians and designers have worked over the winter to understand if the values on the track will be the same as last year, i.e. with Red Bull on the run, Ferrari and Mercede chasing at a safe distance and all the rest of the group very far away. The aspects to be evaluated will be almost infinite: set-ups, tyres, temperatures, resistance of the Power Unit components and much more.
07.46 Let me be clear, knowing the Formula One teams it will be a long race to hide. In recent years it has been clearly seen that several teams prefer to avoid revealing all their cards. Red Bull, already having an excellent car, could already focus on tires and long distances, while Mercedes will have to understand immediately if, unlike a year ago, the project has been spot on!
07.43 A total, therefore, of 28 hours and 30 minutes which will allow drivers, technicians and engineers to really evaluate the goodness of their respective cars on the track. Compared to 12 months ago, we don’t have to face a technical revolution, so the cars will most likely follow in the wake of those that were on the track in 2022.
07.40 How will the Sakhir tests be structured? Today, tomorrow and Saturday, the riders will have the track available from 08.00 to 17.30. 9 hours and 30 a day.
07.35 The new season officially begins and the emotion and curiosity are immense. It begins with work on a major program on the Sakhir track
07.30 Good morning and welcome to Sakhir! In exactly 30 minutes the first day of the pre-season tests in Bahrain will start!
How to follow the first day of testing on TV/streaming – The line-up of the first day – The presentation of the tests
Good morning and welcome to LIVE LIVE from the first day of the pre-season tests of the 2023 F1 World Championship. On the trail of Sakhir promises a day-1 very interesting in which drivers and teams will have to find answers in a short time with respect to their own car, in comparison with their opponents on the track. A circuit that will then be the scene of the first round of the champion on the weekend of 3-5 March.
Ferrari, as is logical, much awaited. There SF-23 he comes to these tests with high hopes, based on the data on the simulator. It remains to be understood whether there will be a correlation between bench work and the track, to put the riders in the best conditions to work. The Spanish Carlos Sainz he will be the first to climb into the cockpit of the Prancing Horse single-seater, while the Monegasque Charles Leclerc he will be behind the wheel of the Red after the lunch break.
There was talk of comparisons and we will undoubtedly see what indications this day will give us regarding the times that Ferrari will be able to achieve. Mercedes e Red Bull. The three-pointed star wants to win again and the W14 it has this purpose. A single-seater with an all-black livery due to weight requirements which in Brackley they hope will be able to hit the target. As for the world champion team, some special effects are expected on one RB19 which was not in the presentation.
OA Sport offers you the LIVE LIVE from the first day of the pre-season tests of the 2023 F1 World Championship: real-time news and constant updates. A day-1 which will have the following program with Italian timetables: 08.00-12.00; 13.00-17.30contemplated the lunch break from 12.00 to 13.00. Good fun!
Photo: LiveMedia/Federico Basile / Dppi/DPPI