Some voices in the paddock have been saying it since Friday and as the hours and with the performance of Checo Pérez this Saturday it is confirmed. Red Bull plays in another league at this start of the 2023 season. His race pace is devastating, his tire degradation is very small as the laps go by and the Mexican took it upon himself to show that At one lap, Ferrari won’t be the fastest here in a week either.
Pérez took the best time of the preseason, a 1:30.305 which is less than the 2022 pole and 1.4 seconds less than Verstappenn’s time on the same day 3 of tests last year at this circuit. The improvement is normal from one year to the next, but the differences are not.
Pérez, 0.7 better than Ferrari
Checo achieved his best time with the C4 tyre, the soft one from the Pirelli range and with equal tires he put 0.7 seconds behind Cherles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz. It is true that the Monegasque achieved his time in the morning and Sainz an hour before the Mexican, but even so it is a huge gap in the great Ferrari specialty of last year. And Verstappen I was already winning starting second or third, from pole position it can be devastating.
Hamilton, improvement but not so much
Lewis Hamilton fI was second in the closing of the tests before the World Cup, but with a C5, or supersoft. There is half a second of improvement between one rubber and another, with which Lewis would be close to Ferrari, although behind and 0.8 seconds behind the Czech Red Bull, who has always been good at this track, where he achieved his first F1 victory in 2020.
And in the race it could be more distance, well the degradation of the RB19 is astonishingly low, lower than that of Mercedes and especially Ferrari, who suffered in the Carlos Sainz race simulation the same problem as the whole week. It is not a question of being pessimistic and surely Ferrari will tune up for next week, but the outlook is not encouraging to fight for victories at the start of the World Cup.
Alonso, 0.4 of Ferrari
Fernando Alonso finished, with equal tires, 0.4 seconds behind Ferrari and 1.1 behind Red Bull a distance that could be less taking into account the time of the laps (earlier), but not too much. Aston Martin could aspire to be the fourth car from the start being 0.3 behind Mercedes and hard battle with Alfa Romeo, what with Bottas (C5) got third in the final day.
Of course, the tire degradation in Fernando’s drill was excellent, hardly anything and even reducing times as the gasoline was unloaded. That gives you a opportunity to approach the Mercedes and Ferrari in the hypothetical race next Sunday. The AMR23 is a good racing car, fast on the straight and without marked weaknesses, a car for Fernando to show his immense class behind the wheel. It wasn’t all going to be bad news.
The times. Day 3 Bahrain test (final)
1. Perez, Red Bull, 1m30.305s, C4 – 131 laps
2. Hamilton, Mercedes, 1m30.664s, C5 – 63 laps
3. Bottas, Alfa Romeo, 1m30.827s, C5 – 129 laps
4. Leclerc, Ferrari, 1m31.024s, C4 – 67 laps
5. Carlos Sainz, Ferrari, 1m31.036s, C4 – 76 laps
6. Tsunoda, AlphaTauri, 1m31.261s, C4 – 77 laps
7. Magnussen, Haas, 1m31.381s, C4 – 95 laps
8. Russell, Mercedes, 1m31.442s, C5 – 83 laps
9. Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin, 1m31,450s, C4 – 78 laps
10. Drugovich, Aston Martin, 1m32.075s, C5 – 77 laps
11. Norris, McLaren, 1m32.160s, C3 – 35 laps
12. Gasly, Alpine, 1m32.762s, C3 – 56 laps
13. Albon, Williams, 1m32.793s, C5 – 136 laps
14. Ocon, Alpine, 1m33.257s, C3 – 74 laps
15. Hulkenberg, Haas, 1m33.329s, C3 – 77 laps
16. Piastri, McLaren, 1m33.655s, C3 – 44 laps
17. De Vries, AlphaTauri, 1m38.244s, C3 – 87 laps