Bahrain Testing 3 – Day 1: Rosberg and Mercedes without issues, Lotus in trouble

Nico Rosberg therefore finished the day on top, but more than his time, it was once again the flawless reliability of the Mercedes W05 that impressed: the German driver covered more than twice the distance of a Bahrain Grand Prix (57 laps).

Behind him, Nico Hülkenberg performed well at the wheel of a Force India that was very comfortable on the Sakhir circuit, while Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) set the third fastest time, just ahead of the day’s second most active driver, Kevin Magnussen with his 102 laps.

Lower down, Max Chilton can boast of having outpaced a Red Bull, a Lotus, and a Toro Rosso at the wheel of his Marussia. Sergey Sirotkin (Sauber), for his part, completed the necessary laps—and much more—to acquire his Super License, essential for driving during Grand Prix weekends.

Lotus and Caterham experience issues, Williams finishes early.

It should be noted that several teams quickly ended their day: such was the case with Caterham, which was the first team of the season to use its day of tire testing to help Pirelli design tires for upcoming seasons. After a very good morning (63 laps), Robin Frijns could not get back on the track after the break due to a hydraulic leak.

Lotus also experienced a problem with the Renault engine that kept Pastor Maldonado in the pits right after the restart, with a meager total of 16 laps, the lowest total of the day by far.

Williams, surprisingly, ended his day around 2:30 PM after 28 laps without any technical issues justifying it. Program completed for Valtteri Bottas. The Grove team seems to have definitively decided not to run much in Sakhir, after already doing so voluntarily during the Grand Prix.

Bahrain Private Tests 3 – Day 1: