The first week of winter testing in Bahrain is over. While test days rarely reveal the full picture, clear patterns have emerged in terms of speed, reliability, and preparation. Some teams impressed, while others ran into problems or did fewer laps than hoped. GPblog lists who currently looks like the winner of the test week—and where the biggest question marks remain.
Winner: Mercedes
The Mercedes works team didn’t complete the most laps themselves. In fact, with 283 laps, the Germans only did more than Aston Martin. The advantage, however, is that Mercedes had by far the most laps in Barcelona and could therefore focus on other matters in Bahrain.
On Friday, Mercedes ultimately set the two fastest times. Both Kimi Antonelli and George Russell clocked 1:33s, while the rivals couldn’t get below the 1:34s.
The biggest win for Mercedes may well be that the engine 'trick' is still allowed for now. Ferrari will not file a protest, and a rule change does not seem to be on the cards.
Toto Wolff also played the game off the track perfectly this week by directing all attention toward Red Bull. According to the team boss, they are the benchmark and a full second ahead of the competition. All Mercedes customers were rallied to deliver the same message. An advantage of having three customer teams.
Another advantage of the four teams is the data that can be collected. No fewer than 1,443 laps were completed collectively by all Mercedes customers. Enough data for the engine department in Brixworth to mull over in the coming week and turn the engine up even further.
Loser: Aston Martin
The loser of this test is easy to identify. Because Williams was absent in Barcelona, it was less noticeable that Aston Martin arrived late there. In Bahrain, however, everyone was present and once again Aston Martin had the most issues.
In Barcelona, the British team barely got any laps in, and in Sakhir, they didn’t really progress over the three days either. Aston Martin and Honda collected 206 laps of data. Is that enough to close in on teams that breezed through twice that number of laps in a single week?
Beyond reliability, there are also plenty of concerns about the car’s speed. Lance Stroll had little positive to say about Adrian Newey’s first car. Four to five seconds—that’s how far behind the team is, according to the Canadian. A painful conclusion after all the investment made and the big names hired.
Winner: Haas
Haas quietly slipped under the radar during testing but is making more and more of an impression. In Barcelona, the American outfit already stood out for the number of clean laps it managed, and in Bahrain it continued that trend.
Beyond the lap count, the times also stand out. Of the teams outside the top four, Haas is closest to the untouchable top four’s pace. Esteban Ocon already stated that the top four is out of reach for everyone else, but the best-of-the-rest spot might just go to the smallest team on the grid.
What especially needs to be considered is the approach this team has often used since Ayao Komatsu took charge. The team boss with an engineering background tends to prioritize lots of laps with heavy fuel during winter testing. A key reason why Haas has surprised at the start of the last two seasons.
It’s possible Haas completely changed its strategy for this year, but if they’ve continued the same approach, they are certainly ones to watch.
Loser: Kimi Antonelli
Kimi Antonelli was essentially the loser of the week even before testing, after making the news for the wrong reasons by crashing his road car at high speed. The Mercedes driver could well lose his driver’s license and in any case caused significant damage to his brand-new car.
In the test, things did not go the Italian’s way. Spread over three days, he completed the fewest laps. Mercedes didn’t run many laps in general, but unfortunately for the youngster, it was mostly during the sessions he was scheduled to drive. As a result, he managed 94 laps, compared to his teammate’s 189.
Antonelli did, however, end the test week on a positive note. With a 1:33.669, Antonelli set the fastest time of the week. It doesn’t earn you anything, but it was the only bright spot of his week.
Winner: Red Bull
No one expected Red Bull Ford to be competitive right away. Not their rivals, and not the Austrians themselves. So far, however, Red Bull has surprised friend and foe alike with the engine they have produced.
With the two teams running the engine, the test weeks have gone just fine. No, they aren’t logging the most laps, but they aren’t far off the teams with the highest totals either. The engine seems reliable so far, and that’s the most important thing.
The engine’s speed is up for debate. Max Verstappen’s long run on Wednesday and also on Friday morning was impressive. The RB22 seemed to have a clear edge over the competition there as well.
That Wednesday run prompted some strong statements from the competition. According to Wolff, the Red Bull Ford engine was the benchmark and a second faster than the rest. Wolff’s comments, however, should be taken with a hefty pinch of salt.
How good the Red Bull engine is compared to the Mercedes power unit is hard to say at this moment. There are plenty of signs that Mercedes is still sandbagging significantly in long runs, something both Red Bull and Ferrari suspect. The fact that Red Bull is even being mentioned in the same category as Mercedes at this stage is already a victory in itself.
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