Sergio Perez topped the timesheet on Saturday after setting the fastest time of three days of pre-season testing in Bahrain; Lewis Hamilton was second as Mercedes delivered an improved display; watch the season-opening Bahrain GP on Sky Sports F1 next weekend
Saturday 25 February 2023 17:59, UK
Sergio Perez set the fastest time on the final day of Formula 1 pre-season testing in Bahrain as Red Bull underlined their status as favourites going into the opening race of the 2023 campaign.
After reigning world champion Max Verstappen had impressed on the first two days for Red Bull at the Bahrain International Circuit, Perez took advantage of the impressive RB19 to produce a 1:30.305 - the best time of the three-day event.
Lewis Hamilton capped an improved day for Mercedes by finishing almost four tenths behind Perez in second, but the void between the two teams was emphasised by the fact that the seven-time world champion's best time came on a softer - and theoretically faster - tyre than the Red Bull driver was using.
"We've certainly got a good base car, something we can work with," said Perez, who retired from last year's opening race along with his team-mate. "I think we will only find out next weekend where we really are.
"We want to be up there. It will be an important weekend, conditions are going to be a bit similar to what we just experienced tonight. So it would be great to start the season much stronger than we did last year."
Ferrari opted not to show their full hand as Carlos Sainz prioritised long runs while Perez and Hamilton put in what appeared to be flying lap simulations in the evening conditions, which match those that the first Qualifying session of the season will be held in at the same track in a week's time.
Sainz did his soft-tyre runs before the sun went down to create optimal conditions in Sakhir and finished fifth as he managed a lap just 12 thousandths of a second slower than the one his team-mate Charles Leclerc had set earlier in the day, with the pair 0.7s back from Perez.
After Zhou Guanyu had done a late flying lap in optimal conditions to edge out Verstappen at the top the Friday timesheet, his team-mate Valtteri Bottas provided more encouragement for Alfa Romeo in Saturday's final session by going third.
Alfa Romeo's successes will be tempered by the fact Bottas, who drove throughout Saturday after Zhou had done the same on Friday, suffered a mechanical failure in the closing stages of the morning session, which brought out a red flag and created the only meaningful delay of the day.
AlphaTauri's Yuki Tsunoda pipped Haas' Kevin Magnussen to sixth, perhaps previewing what could be a close battle this season between those teams towards the back of the midfield, which Alfa Romeo may well feature in too.
After impressing over the first two days, Fernando Alonso was only ninth for Aston Martin, but the two-time world champion has shown enough promise with his new team to leave many predicting they are the squad most likely to challenge the top three.
That line of thinking has been given more credence by the lack of pace shown by Alpine and McLaren, who battled it out for fourth place last year.
The French team are undoubtedly the ones in better shape, but 12th for Pierre Gasly and 14th for team-mate Esteban Ocon on Saturday saw them fail to make a splash at a Bahrain track which may simply not suit their car.
There is far more concern at McLaren, who continued to face problems with the wheel brows on their MCL60 which severely limited their running and left them as the team to complete the fewest lap across the three days.
Rookie Oscar Piastri finished 16th, while Lando Norris, whose future with the team remains a continued topic of speculation, could only manage 11th.
While testing times must be treated with caution due to the fact that teams may not be running at their lowest fuel loads and highest engine modes, among other variables, Red Bull's pace and the largely serene nature of their running over the three days has established them as clear favourites to defend their constructors' title.
Verstappen quickly appeared comfortable each time he came on track as he took on three of the first four sessions, leaving Perez to carry out Red Bull's final-day running.
"It's been very good," Verstappen said on Saturday. "I think the car is working really well, going through all the things we wanted to try and it's very interesting what we have been trying.
"Very positive days for me. I'm enjoying driving the car."
Perez, who struggled to keep pace with Verstappen in the second half of last season, appeared to take a little more time to adjust to the RB19 but was comfortably able to see off the challenge of Hamilton under the lights on Saturday.
Ferrari, who were Red Bull's closest challengers last season, enjoyed a very solid three days of running, but both Leclerc and team principal Frederic Vasseur have hinted they consider Red Bull to be ahead.
"I feel we've got some work to do," Leclerc said on Saturday. "Red Bull seems to be very strong in these three days."
The decision to prioritise longer race-type running in the conditions that are likely to be most similar to the race next weekend was potentially a reflection of speculation in the paddock that their main concerns centre around tyre degradation, rather than pure pace.
For Mercedes, Saturday represented a clear improvement on a disastrous Friday, in which Lewis Hamilton struggled in the morning before Russell was forced to miss the final 90 minutes of the evening session after a hydraulic failure.
Russell, who finished eighth, managed 83 laps as he finished 0.4s off morning-session leader Leclerc.
While Mercedes appear to have cured the bouncing issues that plagued their 2022 car, Hamilton admitted there are "underlying" issues with the W14 which have carried over from its troublesome predecessor.
"They're just things that we're working through," Hamilton said. "Some of the balance limitations that we had last year are just present."
While Mercedes appear to be a step behind their rivals, there is a sense they may be able to narrow the gap quicker than they were able to as their eight-year streak of constructors' titles ended last season.
Formula 1 is back! Watch the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix live on Sky Sports F1 next weekend. The track action starts on Friday while Sunday's race begins at 3pm. Get Sky Sports
