Charles Leclerc kept Ferrari on top of the timesheet on the third and final day of F1 pre-season testing with Mercedes’ George Russell second and Max Verstappen fourth-quickest ahead of next week’s season-opening Bahrain GP.
After team-mate Carlos Sainz had topped Thursday’s running, Leclerc took timesheet honours on Friday with a best lap of 1:30.22 mid-way through the afternoon on the C5 tyres, the fastest compound available this week.
The morning session of the test was again disrupted for the second successive day by a dislodged drain cover with running red-flagged for over an hour before cars were allowed to return to track.
The widely-held belief therefore remains that Red Bull, the reigning double world champions are still the team to beat at the start of the new season after an impressive opening week for their eye-catching new RB20 car.
But Ferrari also enjoyed a strong test too, with their drivers feeling more confident about their car and its handling than this time last year. Mercedes’ drivers have also spoken about their latest challenger, the W15, being “nicer to drive” than its two evil-handling predecessors, while McLaren feel they remain right in the chasing pack.
