The first day of testing in Bahrain live!

Red Bull is back!

Look, now the cops are taking a step back and explaining in another statement: “We haven’t made any official comment regarding the Mercedes and we won’t either.” It looks much weaker than before. But it should be clear what you think of the W13 even without an official statement…

What annoys Horner?

Back to the Horner/Mercedes story again. Red Bull Team Leader Quoted from “auto motor und sport”: “These are not mirror stands, but wings. […] In our view, Mercedes has gone a step too far. This is not in keeping with the spirit of the regulations. For us, these wings are illegal.”

As a reminder, Red Bull denies Horner ever said that. I don’t think colleagues just made up the statements, but in the end there is a statement against the statement, which we have to accept.

stand alfa romeo

The first minor problem of the course? Alfa Romeo at the entrance to the pit lane. But it is also possible that Cho intentionally drained the reservoir. Teams do that sometimes. Let’s see when we will see the C42 again on the right track. A red flag is not necessary because mechanics can retrieve the vehicle. The session continues.

Haas can catch up

Meanwhile, colleagues from “auto motor und sport” reported that Haas could make up for the missed morning session on Sunday. Mick Schumacher should be sitting in the car. The background is that Haas is not responsible for delays in shipping. A different case than, for example, an engine malfunction. Then you cannot turn back time.

So we can look forward to another four hours of testing on Sunday – even if it’s just one car.

Red Bull denies statements

This may be funny between cops and Mercedes… Regarding Christian Horner’s alleged statements that W13 is illegal, the team has now released a statement saying: “Christian Horner has not given any interviews related to the Mercedes. All quotes attributed to him this morning are invalid.”

Let’s take it this way.

lap table

Hamilton (32)
Perez (30)
Chu (30)
Leclerc (28)
Vettel (21)
Albert (21)
Gasly (21)
Akon (11)
Norris (8)
Fittipaldi (0)

New record

Leclerc consolidated his place at the top with 1:34.531, with Hamilton moving into P2 with 1:36.365. Both were on C3 tires. Comfortable progress for Ferrari at the moment. But: F1-75 didn’t get a major update either, so Ferrari can continue more or less from where they left off in Barcelona.

At Mercedes, you have to find a good setup first. Due to the numerous updates, you’ll basically be starting over. In addition, there are unknown factors such as fuel, engine mode, etc. What we are saying is that Ferrari is not likely to lead Mercedes and the rest of the world by 1.8 seconds…

model tires

If you’re wondering what a C2 prototype is when you look at the timelines, it’s the same tire, but made in Turkey and not the standard Pirelli factory. This is just a comparison, not a different mix.

times

Some shifts but no change at the top. Leclerc continues to lead. However, Zhou currently has the most rounds with a score of 25. Here is the current overview:

1. Leclerc (Ferrari) – 1: 35.953 (C4)
2. Perez (Red Bull) – 1: 36.581 (C2 Model)
Third Vettel (Aston Martin) – 1: 36.637 (C2)
4. Norris (McLaren) – 1: 37.580 (C4)
5. Albon (Williams) – 1: 37.794 (C2 Form)
6. Ocon (Alpine) – 1: 37.852 (C2 prototype)
7- Zhou (Alfa Romeo) – 1:38.675 (C3)
8. Gasly (AlphaTauri) – 1: 40.366 (C4)
9- Hamilton (Mercedes) – 1: 40.605 (C2)
10. Fittipaldi (Haas) –

Midday update from Bahrain

You already know this from Barcelona: Kevin Schoren and our Editor-in-Chief Christian Niemervall will meet live today at 11:40 am. Formel1.de YouTube channel Report with the first midday update from Bahrain. The full daily analysis follows in the evening after the end of the test.

short night

Of course, our motorsport network was represented again in Bahrain with many people live on the track. However, some colleagues were sleeping too little because their flight from the UK was delayed. And it’s not just about our staff, there were also many team members on board, like James Fowles from Mercedes.

So it was a short night for some…

porpoises

By the way, this should still be a problem, the teams haven’t completely solved the problem yet. For example, we just saw Ocon rocked a little straight. The effect continues to occur in other cars as well. We are already looking forward to the first data on whether it is possible to at least reduce the jump of cars.

New Wonderpod

Not only are the mirrors on the Aston Martin new, but we also discovered a new undercarriage here. In the meantime, we’re hearing from Red Bull that updates to the RB18 should not come until tomorrow. Like we said before, we haven’t seen any major changes there.

Meanwhile, at Alpine, we see the use of DRS. This is interesting because overtaking was not used on the A522 in Barcelona. So it seems that the problem has been resolved. At Williams, Albon reported a hot seat earlier. Unpleasant, it should be improved.

#AskMST

Piet wants to know: “There is currently a different creator hero or [Fahrer-]World Champion. Who has the privilege to choose the fossils first, Red Bull or Mercedes? “The World Builders Championship always applies here. The Drivers World Champion has the right to start in first place, but the other World Championships apply to the pits.

We also got a question about the track: “The track is already ready to start the season next week, am I right? The sponsorship and starting lights are all appropriate.” Yes, that is the case. After the test, the teams stay live on the track. There is no point in disassembling everything for a few days.

Also below…

… been tampered with again at Mercedes. Because of the many changes, some in the ring are already talking about “W13B”. Officially still W13.