Gasly quickest on opening day of Bahrain test, Red Bull most productive team

Published on 10 March 2022 by Stefan Meens

Sergio Pérez and Oracle Red Bull Racing can look back on a productive opening day of the final pre-season test. The Mexican lapped the Bahrain International Circuit 138 times. Mercedes, Ferrari, Alfa Romeo, Williams and Alpha Tauri were the other outfits completing more than 100 laps. Pierre Gasly was quickest in the Alpha Tauri.

At the start of the afternoon session, several teams have slotted their other driver in the car. Only Red Bull Racing (Perez), Alpha Tauri (Gasly), Williams (Alex Albon) and McLaren (Lando Norris) stick to the same drivers that drove during the morning.

After being absent from the morning session due to logistical issues, Haas are among the first to leave the pits, with Pietro Fittipaldi driving the American team’s latest challenger. Haas have been given permission by the FIA to make up for lost time on both Friday and Saturday evening.

Fifteen minutes into the afternoon’s running, the session is red-flagged. The aero-rake on Lance Stroll’s car has crumbled and left debris on track. After a quick tidy, the session is resumed.

At the midway point, Charles Leclerc is the pace setter with a 1:34.5, set on the C3 Pirellis, but is later usurped by Ferrari team mate Carlos Sainz and ultimately by Pierre Gasly, who sets a 1:33.902 on the softest tyre compound, the C5.

Whilst Sergio Perez and Red Bull are enjoying good reliability and are adding plenty of laps to their tally, the same cannot be said of Haas and McLaren. The latter team only managed 33 laps in the morning and Norris only completes 27 more laps in the afternoon. Meanwhile, Fittipaldi’s total stops at 17 laps.

Despite the session being uneventful, it does finish earlier than planned. In an attempt to point his car back in the right direction after a spin, Perez beaches his RB18 in the gravel. Thereafter, race control decide to end the session with a mere ten minutes remaining.

Pre-Season Test - Bahrain - Thursday 10 March results:

01 Gasly        AlphaTauri     1:33.902   103
02 Sainz        Ferrari        1:34.359   52
03 Leclerc      Ferrari        1:34.531   64 
04 Stroll       Aston Martin   1:34.736   50
05 Albon        Williams       1:35.070   104
06 Norris       McLaren        1:35.356   50
07 Bottas       Alfa Romeo     1:35.495   66
08 Vettel       Aston Martin   1:35.706   39
09 Russell      Mercedes       1:35.941   59
10 Perez        Red Bull       1:35.977   138
11 Hamilton     Mercedes       1:36.365   62
12 Alonso       Alpine         1:36.745   24
13 Ocon         Alpine         1:36.768   42
14 Zhou         Alfa Romeo     1:37.164   54
15 Fittipaldi   Haas           1:38.527   47