Pre-season testing is over and in just a handful of days, the 2023 Formula 1 season will get underway with the Bahrain Grand Prix weekend.
Three days of testing occurred at the Bahrain track earlier this week as teams looked to gather data on their new challengers.
Testing doesn’t provide a definite answer as to how the grid will shape up for the upcoming campaign, but it’s clear that some teams are in better positions than others.
Heading into the 2023 season, Red Bull is favourite once again as it enjoyed a smooth test, setting the fastest lap of the event with Sergio Perez.
Ferrari and Mercedes will be hoping to dethrone their rivals, while there may well be a shift in the midfield pack.
Aston Martin caught the eye of many onlookers during the test, and it has been tipped to be fighting at the head of the midfield at the start of the new campaign.
Fernando Alonso, who has joined it for the upcoming year after spending the last two seasons with Alpine, led the drivers in total lap count across the three days.
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Lap Count | Mileage (km) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | 270 | 1,461.24 |
| 2 | Nyck de Vries | AlphaTauri | 246 | 1,331.35 |
| 3 | Logan Sargeant | Williams | 228 | 1,233.94 |
| 4 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 220 | 1,190.64 |
| 5 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | 218 | 1,179.82 |
| 6 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | 217 | 1,174.40 |
| 7 | Alexander Albon | Williams | 211 | 1,141.93 |
| 8 | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri | 210 | 1,136.52 |
| 9 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull | 209 | 1,131.11 |
| 10 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 204 | 1,104.05 |
| 11 | Valtteri Bottas | Alfa Romeo | 202 | 1,093.22 |
| 12 | Zhou Guanyu | Alfa Romeo | 200 | 1,082.40 |
| 13 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 199 | 1,076.99 |
| 14 | Nico Hulkenberg | Haas | 296 | 1,060.75 |
| 15 | George Russell | Mercedes | 178 | 963.34 |
| 16 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine | 178 | 963.34 |
| 17 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | 175 | 947.10 |
| 18 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | 170 | 920.10 |
| 19 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 142 | 768.50 |
| 20 | Felipe Drugovich | Aston Martin | 117 | 633.20 |
Alonso clocked 70 per cent of Aston Martin’s mileage during the three days, and despite being the most seasoned driver behind the wheel of a 2023 car, the team itself languishes further down the lap tally.
Heading that particular standing is AlphaTauri who had few troubles during the test as it clocked up the on-track lap count.
McLaren, however, suffered a challenging few days with various issues popping up – meaning it is the least experienced squad heading into the 2023 campaign.
| Pos. | Team | Lap Count | Mileage (km) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | AlphaTauri | 456 | 2,467.87 |
| 2 | Williams | 439 | 2,375.87 |
| 3 | Ferrari | 417 | 2,251.39 |
| 4 | Haas | 415 | 2,240.57 |
| 5 | Red Bull | 413 | 2,235.16 |
| 6 | Alfa Romeo | 402 | 2,175.62 |
| 7 | Mercedes | 398 | 2,153.98 |
| 8 | Aston Martin | 387 | 2,094.44 |
| 9 | Alpine | 353 | 1,910.44 |
| 10 | McLaren | 312 | 1,688.54 |
Out of the four Power Unit suppliers, it comes as no surprise that Mercedes set the most mileage, given it is the only squad to deliver engines to four teams.
It was followed by Ferrari, who has three suppliers, with Red Bull and Renault rounding out the short list.
Renault, who solely powers Alpine, was the only manufacturer not to breach 2,000km covered across the test.
| Pos. | Team | Lap Count | Mileage (km) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mercedes | 1,536 | 8,312.83 |
| 2 | Ferrari | 1,232 | 6,667.58 |
| 3 | Red Bull | 869 | 4,703.03 |
| 4 | Renault | 353 | 1,910.44 |
The fastest lap times were set on the final day of running, with Sergio Perez taking the top spot for Red Bull.
However, there’s no indication of what engine modes or fuel levels teams are running during these tests, so establishing a pecking order based on the best times is near impossible.
Nevertheless, the fastest times feature a variety of teams, with Zhou Guanyu’s effort from day two being the only time on the list not to be set on the last day of action.
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Lap Time | Day | Tyre Compound |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull | 1:30.305 | Day 3 | C4 |
| 2 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:30.664 | Day 3 | C5 |
| 3 | Valtteri Bottas | Alfa Romeo | 1:30.827 | Day 3 | C5 |
| 4 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:31.024 | Day 3 | C4 |
| 5 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | 1:31.024 | Day 3 | C4 |
| 6 | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri | 1:31.261 | Day 3 | C4 |
| 7 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | 1:31.381 | Day 3 | C4 |
| 8 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1:31.442 | Day 3 | C5 |
| 9 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | 1:31.450 | Day 3 | C4 |
| 10 | Zhou Guanyu | Alfa Romeo | 1:31.610 | Day 2 | C5 |
