The sun bid farewell on the horizon of the Sakhir circuit in Bahrain, marking the conclusion of the Formula 1 pre-season tests in 2024. On this final day, Charles Leclerc of Ferrari shone brightly, emerging as the fastest in a day of intense track activity.
The morning session saw Carlos Sainz topping the time charts, closely followed by Sergio Pérez of Red Bull. However, an incident involving a drain cover forced a halt to the practice, extending the day well into the afternoon.
While some teams faced technical setbacks, such as McLaren with an issue with Lando Norris's clutch, others like Sauber opted for a more cautious approach, fine-tuning their vehicle with Valtteri Bottas at the wheel.
In the afternoon, Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc took the reins of their respective cars. Leclerc impressed by clocking a fast lap of 1m30.322s on C4 tires, thus setting the best time of the day.
As the sunset approached, teams focused their efforts on race simulations with more durable tires. However, Red Bull's Yuki Tsunoda and Mercedes' George Russell took advantage of the softer compounds to improve their positions on the time sheet.
By the end of the day, Russell trailed Leclerc by just 0.046 seconds, showcasing the potential of his Mercedes.
With the pre-season tests concluded, attention now turns to the upcoming Bahrain Grand Prix, where teams will put to the test all they have learned during the winter.
| Pos | Driver | Team | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:30.322 | |
| 2 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1:30.368 | +0.046s |
| 3 | Zhou Guanyu | Sauber | 1:30.647 | +0.325s |
| 4 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing | 1:30.755 | +0.433s |
| 5 | Yuki Tsunoda | RB | 1:30.775 | +0.453s |
| 6 | Alexander Albon | Williams | 1:30.984 | +0.662s |
| 7 | Oscar Piastri | Mclaren | 1:31.030 | +0.708s |
| 8 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | 1:31.159 | +0.837s |
| 9 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | 1:31.247 | +0.925s |
| 10 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull Racing | 1:31.483 | +1.161s |
| 11 | Nico Hulkenberg | Haas | 1:31.686 | +1.364s |
| 12 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:31.999 | +1.677s |
| 13 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | 1:32.038 | +1.716s |
| 14 | Lando Norris | Mclaren | 1:32.108 | +1.786s |
| 15 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | 1:32.149 | +1.827s |
| 16 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | 1:33.053 | +2.731s |
| 17 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine | 1:33.079 | +2.757s |
| 18 | Valtteri Bottas | Sauber | 1:33.528 | +3.206s |
| 19 | Daniel Ricciardo | RB | 1:37.015 | +6.693s |
2024-07-19
14:00
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14:00
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