Ferrari data shows Lewis Hamilton had ‘the fastest race simulation of anyone’ in Bahrain test

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Lewis Hamilton finished the first Bahrain test with a third fastest time. His best effort of a 1:34.209 was around half a second adrift of Kimi Antonelli’s blistering Mercedes benchmark.

George Russell made it a Mercedes one-two in the overall leaderboard, while Charles Leclerc was just behind Hamilton in fourth. But a clearer picture of the teams’ one-lap pace should emerge at the end of the second test.

At this stage, high-fuel running is likely to be the priority, and it’s Ferrari who seem to have the advantage in this department.

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Hamilton completed 138 laps on Friday, the equivalent of nearly 2.5 Grand Prix distances in Bahrain, and that included a race simulation under the lights.

Lewis Hamilton leads Bahrain F1 test on race pace

Leclerc’s race simulation had already impressed the paddock on Thursday, but Hamilton went even faster on the final day. The one caveat here is that more rubber had been laid down on the track, improving grip levels.

But after Hamilton set the quickest time of the Barcelona Shakedown, the Sakhir data offers further encouragement. That’s exactly what he needs after his first-ever season without a podium.

What’s more, Ted Kravitz and Craig Slater of Sky Sports believe that Ferrari currently have the best package in race trim, though that could change before Melbourne as rival teams introduce new parts.

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“With the upgrade package they brought to day two here in Bahrain – new floor, new front wing, new diffuser, Ferrari are quickest on a race simulation,” Kravitz said. “They completed the Bahrain Grand Prix quicker than anyone else, period.

“Lewis Hamilton fans, listen to this,” Slater teased:

Kravitz replied: “Lewis’ race run was quicker than Charles’ race run, but it was on a rubbered-in track, at the same time of day. Some of these race runs were done at different times.

Later in the video, Slater added: “That’s quite a headline – Lewis Hamilton leaves here with the fastest race simulation of anyone.

Kravitz concluded: “Especially after saying on day one that the car had so little grip that it felt like a Formula 2 car or a GP2 car. That’s the surprise for me. What changed? That was obviously day one he spoke, then the upgrades came.”

It’s not all positive for Ferrari at F1 testing

Watching Leclerc from the side of the track on day two, Kimi Antonelli noticed Ferrari struggling with understeer. Hamilton had also complained of sliding around on the opening day, though he partly attributed that to track conditions.

Ferrari still have some work to do on the balance of their car, though that is to be expected at this stage.

Meanwhile, Ferrari are investigating their engine braking after the data flagged an issue. There are some technical gremlins to be ironed out too.

The SF-26 has largely run well up to this point, although Hamilton did stop on track in the final minutes of Friday’s action. This isn’t being treated as a serious concern after he posted such a high lap count.