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Mercedes continued to set the pace in pre-season testing in Bahrain as drivers and teams adapted to new rules and regulations governing the sport … and champions Red Bull suffered more problems.
The team, which showed willingness but was often unable to deliver on race day last season, appears to be prospering from the changes and look like the ones to beat in 2014.
The mighty Mercs continued to set the pace on the fourth and final day of the second pre-season test in Bahrain on Saturday, following sessions in Spain in January, as Nico Rosberg posted the fastest time overall.
Rosberg topped the timesheet with a lap of one minute 33.283 seconds, a second quicker than British team-mate Lewis Hamilton managed on Friday as the German completed 89 laps at the Sakhir circuit.
He said: “We can be very pleased with the first test in Bahrain. We completed a lot of mileage and learnt more about the car with every lap we achieved.
“On Saturday morning we were able to try some qualifying practice runs which felt good, meaning I could attack the lap a bit as I found a good balance. Later in the day we did a race simulation, which was crucial to learn all the new things in the car. There was a lot of feedback from the engineers, so my head was full of information!
“I felt comfortable in the car – it’s important for me to feel at home, that everything is to my liking. I was really able to push it, which was cool, a good feeling.
“There is still some way to go for us to manage the reliability before Melbourne as this will play a huge factor in the early races, but we’re hopeful that we can make another step towards achieving this week.”
Testing at the Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) resumes tomorrow and will continue until Sunday. Former champion Hamilton cannot wait to jump back into the driver’s seat at Sakhir. “I’m looking forward to completing a race simulation this week as we didn’t quite get to finish it.
“We’re trying to find any issues we can now to prevent them happening during a race situation. The car seems to be responding well to my style of driving and the power unit is looking promising, with all of the Mercedes-powered team completing good mileage.
“We won’t know where we are for definite until we get to Melbourne so we’re just continuing to focus on our run programmes, keep positive and look forward; the team has done a great job to get where we are today so we just need to keep that going.”
In the last test McLaren’s Jenson Button went second quickest 1.5 seconds behind Rosberg, while Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen was third as he ended his day five minutes early following a late crash that ripped the front nose off his car.
Brazil’s Felipe Nasr, who was announced as a test and reserve driver for Williams, went fourth quickest on the day producing 87 laps.
Red Bull, winners of the last four drivers’ and constructors’ titles with Sebastian Vettel, suffered another problematic day as their pre-season campaign continued to flounder.
Australian Daniel Ricciardo, who was pulled from the track early on Friday after managing 28 laps, completed only 15 on Saturday due to a power-unit problem with the Renault-powered RB10.
In total Red Bull have registered only 137 laps in pre-season, compared to 624 by Mercedes, 541 by McLaren and 538 by Ferrari.
“In all honesty it wasn’t a great day,” said Ricciardo. “I guess we still need more time. We have four more days coming up and hopefully we can maximise those.
“I have to say that on the run we did today the car did feel better. But unfortunately another problem arose and we couldn’t exploit that potential.”
Overall, Mercedes registered the top two times of the second pre-season test followed by the McLaren’s of Button and Kevin Magnussen.
Teams have remained in Bahrain for the third and final pre-season test.
Fans will be able to watch the testing from BIC’s Main Grandstand, which overlooks the Formula One pit lane, team garages and the circuit’s main straight, on Friday and Saturday. Doors will be open to the public from 9am to 5pm. Tickets cost BD5 on each day.
Bahrain first hosted Formula One pre-season testing in 2006 when the kingdom was also selected as the host venue for the season’s opening Grand Prix. Since then, the BIC has long been a favourite destination for the Formula One teams to test during the European winter.
The kingdom’s warm climate, long hours of daylight and minimal interruptions allow the teams to maximise their track time, thus gaining as much valuable information about their respective cars before the start of the new season.
The 2014 FIA Formula One World Championship kick starts two weeks after the Bahrain tests with the Australian Grand Prix from March 14-15-16.
The Formula One Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix is the third of 19 races this season. It will be taking place on April 4-5-6 in Sakhir.
l Tickets for the Grand Prix are now on sale. They can be purchased at the BIC stands in Bahrain City Centre or Seef Mall; online at www.bahraingp.com or on the official BIC page on Facebook; or by calling the BIC Hotline on 17450000.
Bahrain Test - Day Four
Date – Saturday, February 22
Driver – Nico Rosberg
No of laps – 89
Best lap time – 1:33.283
Kilometres covered – 482
Track length – 5.412km
Weather – Sunny and mild
Bahrain Test - Day Three
Date – Friday, February 21
Driver – Lewis Hamilton
No of laps – 67
Best lap time – 1:34.263
Kilometres covered – 363
Track length – 5.412km
Weather – Sunny and mild
