Verstappen sets blistering pace to top final day’s timesheet in F1 pre-season tests at BIC

Verstappen sets blistering pace to top final day’s timesheet in F1 pre-season tests at BIC

• Reigning drivers’ world champion’s best time on day three is also fastest lap from all of pre-season testing in Bahrain
• Formula 1 now heads into race week with only a few days remaining for the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix

Reigning drivers’ world champion Max Verstappen set the track alight this evening with a blistering fastest lap that put Red Bull Racing on top of the timesheet in the final day of Formula 1 Aramco Pre-Season Testing 2022 at Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) in Sakhir.

Verstappen’s best time of one minute 31.720 seconds came late in the afternoon session under BIC’s bright floodlights. His ultra-quick time was the fastest from all three days of testing this weekend at “The Home of Motorsport in the Middle East”, and it set the stage for plenty more to look forward to as the top flight heads into race week with the season-opening F1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix just days away.

The upcoming Grand Prix is set to be a once-in-a-generation event, ushering in “A New Era” in F1 following the introduction of sweeping new regulations and the huge design evolution of the F1 cars.

Fans in the Kingdom have the privilege of being the first in the world this 18 to 20 March to experience the pinnacle of motorsport in a whole new light.

With the Bahrain Grand Prix being a night event, qualifying and the 57-lap race are scheduled for 6pm starts. This evening’s tests over the last hour gave teams a preview of the conditions at that time of day, which would be crucial for their preparations for next week’s wheel-to-wheel battles.

It was during this period that Verstappen had the day’s quickest time behind the wheel of Red Bull’s RB18 car. He completed a total of 53 laps in the afternoon session, and was the only driver to go below the 1:32.000 mark all weekend.

Charles Leclerc continued the impressive pre-season form of Ferrari as he finished behind Verstappen on the timesheet in his F1-75 challenger. Leclerc posted a fastest time of 1:32.415, which was also clocked in the cooler afternoon runs while completing 51 laps.

Two-time world champion Fernando Alonso of Alpine was classified third with a best lap of 1:32.698 in his A522 car. Alonso was the second-busiest man of the day, putting in 122 laps of work having tested the full day for Alpine.

George Russell in the F1 W13 of constructors’ world champions Mercedes came fourth with a top lap of 1:32.759 and 71 laps completed. Valtteri Bottas in Alfa Romeo’s C42 came fifth in 1:32.985 with 68 total laps, while Yuki Tsunoda was sixth-fastest for AlphaTauri with a time of 1:33.002 and 57 laps in his AT03 challenger.