Looks like Red Bull sitting pretty after F1 testing

[John S]

RBR seems to have the advantage, in the hands of Max at least, when you compare the tyres that were on the cars when the best laps were set on Day 3.

Ferrari's hero time came on the softest compound C5 and the other ahead of Max on the timing board, see below, were on C4s a step softer than the C3s Max was on. Ironically neither C4 or C5 will be available for the Bahrain race itself, so one can only surmise they were used for publicity, or perhaps confirmation of car behaviour if & when they can be used in a race.

Can we trust these times to give the whole picture of pecking order though? Many a slip between Testing & real race conditions.

Bahrain F1 Testing Day Three - final timesheet(all times unofficial)

1. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) - 1:30.322, 74 laps  C5
2. George Russell (Mercedes) - +0.046, 67 laps  C4
3. Zhou Guanyu (Kick Sauber) - +0.325, 85 laps  C4
4. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) - +0.433, 66 laps  C3
5. Yuki Tsunoda (RB) - +0.453, 53 laps  C4
6. Alex Albon (Williams) - +0.662, 121 laps  C4
7. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) - +0.708, 91 laps  C3
8. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) - +0.837, 75 laps  C3
9. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) - +0.925, 71 laps  C3
10. Sergio Perez (Red Bull) - +1.161, 53 laps  C3
11. Nico Hulkenberg (Haas) - +1.364, 89 laps  C3
12. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) - +1.677 49 laps  C3
13. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) - +1.716, 46 laps  C3
14. Lando Norris (McLaren) - +1.786, 20 laps  C3
15. Pierre Gasly (Alpine) - +1.827, 47 laps C3
16. Kevin Magnussen (Haas) - +2.731, 80 laps  C3
17. Esteban Ocon (Alpine) - +2.757, 55 laps  C3
18. Valtteri Bottas (Kick Sauber) - +3.206, 28 laps  C3
19. Daniel Ricciardo (RB) - +6.693, 70 laps  C1

[Jericoke]

I'm still not sold on the idea of only having three days of testing.  It gives a huge advantage to anyone who got it 'best' right away, without much room to course correct or seriously try different approaches.

It's one of those 'cost cutting' measures that doesn't really make sense in a cost cap era. What's the point in saving money if you can't actually spend on improving your car?

[lkjohnson1950]

I don't think the cost cap is working very well. The grid still lines up pretty close to budget, rich teams in front and cheap teams to the rear. What's the point of keeping Haas in the field if they are always at the back?

[Jericoke]

I don't think the cost cap is working very well. The grid still lines up pretty close to budget, rich teams in front and cheap teams to the rear. What's the point of keeping Haas in the field if they are always at the back?

Well, F1's popularity and value are both at an all time high.  They're in the position of turning big name investors away, instead of begging companies to buy up second teams, or relying on single dollar buyouts to keep teams afloat.

So in terms of what the cap was meant to do, it really is working well.

Now, as fans of the sport who dream of a 26 way title fight it, we clearly see it's not helping with that at all, and we worry that if the sport becomes dull and predictable, as it very well could with a cap holding the teams in stasis, that the popularity and value might fall away and could very well kill the sport we love.