F1 testing: Max Verstappen fastest in final testing ahead of Ferrari as Mercedes struggle for pace

Max Verstappen finished pre-season testing on top of the timing sheets to send Red Bull into the 2022 season full of confidence in the car.

Running with the RB18’s upgraded sidepods for the first time, the world champion posted a time of 1:31.720 seconds, the fastest across the three days of testing in Bahrain.

That was 0.7 seconds ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc as the session ended under floodlights, in conditions similar to next Sunday’s opening race at the same Sakhir circuit.

“We can’t read too much into the timing,” Verstappen said. “The new parts we tested today worked well, which is what we always hope for.”

Two-time F1 champion Fernando Alonso pushed his Alpine up to third right at the end, sending George Russell down to fourth. They were both around a second slower than Verstappen.

Lando Norris, having to fill in for Daniel Ricciardo who has Covid-1 was ninth for McLaren, who had a difficult time in Bahrain.

Lewis Hamilton was 4.5 seconds behind Verstappen in 17th spot, although when he drove earlier in the day the conditions were less suitable than in the afternoon and evening. Red Bull’s Sergio Perez topped the morning standings.

“At the moment, I’m sure everyone can figure that out, we are not the quickest,” Hamilton said.

“I think Ferrari look to be the quickest and perhaps Red Bull and then maybe us or McLaren. We’re currently not at the top.“At the moment I don’t think we’ll be competing for wins.

“There is potential within our car to get us there, we’ve just got to learn to be able to extract it. We have some hurdles to overcome.”

Mercedes teammate Russell added: “It’s definitely bouncing around a lot. It’s not the comfiest, in all honesty.

“I don’t really care about comfort if the performance is there. But at the moment we do seem a step behind our rivals.”

Additional reporting by AP Sport.