Winter Test Day 3: Verstappen confirms ahead of a surprising rookie

It’s over in Sakhir! On his Red Bull, **Max Verstappen** completed the last day of winter testing at the top of the standings ahead of **Yuki Tsunoda** (AlphaTauri) and **Carlos Sainz** (Ferrari).

Red Bull shines brighter than Mercedes.

Equipped with the soft compound (C4), the Dutch driver set his time at the start of the last half hour, in 1:28.960. Leading in the middle of the afternoon with prototype tires (C3), Verstappen also went on the attack in the final moments of the tests.

Among the other drivers in the spotlight, Kimi Räikkönen on board his Alfa Romeo (C5 tires) and Yuki Tsunoda for AlphaTauri (C4). A clash of generations, 21 years apart between the two, which turned in favor of the Japanese rookie.

A little further back, Lewis Hamilton is in the top third of the standings, but the Mercedes is puzzling. The Briton switched to the soft tires (C4) in the last hour, but did not get closer to Verstappen’s Red Bull.

Hamilton struggled with the balance of his car, as evidenced by a spin in the final corner. The W12 is still prone to oversteer, with instability when accelerating. Unlike previous years, the Mercedes does not end on a high note. Everything can change in the next 2 weeks but there is a bit more suspense than expected!

The Mercedes-Red Bull match had already turned in favor of the Austrian team on Sunday morning. 8th overall, Sergio Pérez completed 49 laps at the wheel of his Red Bull. The Mexican reassured himself with a best time on C4 tires, seven tenths for example ahead of the Frenchman Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri), 12th in the final standings of the day, five tenths ahead of the other French driver on the grid, Esteban Ocon, 13th on board the Alpine.

In total, 18 drivers took to the track this Sunday. 2 stayed in the garage: Antonio Giovinazzi (Alfa Romeo) and Nicholas Latifi (Williams). George Russell discovered his car, for his first and only day of pre-season testing. The young British driver finishes in an impressive 6th place!

More reliability issues on Vettel’s Aston Martin!

To remember also this Sunday… the consistency of the drivers! No accidents, and lots of driving. The teams have explored the maximum possibilities of their new cars.

Among the most dedicated, Räikkönen! Alone this Sunday in the Alfa Romeo cockpit, Iceman ground the asphalt of the Sakhir circuit, with 166 laps, which is more than twice the duration of a Bahrain Grand Prix. Some reliability to varying degrees anyway.

Sebastian Vettel’s session ended earlier than everyone else: a boost pressure problem for the Aston Martin at the start of the last hour and “only” 57 laps this Sunday afternoon in Sakhir. Carlos Sainz also had gearbox ratio problems with his Ferrari, just before returning to the track to finish these winter tests.

The final ranking: