Thursday was a day of two faces for Ferrari. The SF-25’s work program continued with out points, with the day’s standings displaying Lewis Hamilton because the chief within the morning session and Charles Leclerc second within the afternoon, solely behind the shock of Carlos Sainz. The Thursday afternoon session in Sakhir additionally offered a chance to check full race simulations, which pitted Leclerc in opposition to Lando Norris, and on this case, the outcomes for Ferrari weren’t encouraging. McLaren’s tempo was considerably quicker.
Inside the group, there isn’t a alarm. The atypical circumstances of the day and the low temperatures are thought of uncommon, and the climate forecast for tomorrow (clear skies and temperatures above 20 levels) ought to present a extra dependable state of affairs. Due to this fact, all evaluations are postponed to tomorrow night. Nonetheless, a major distinction stays—the one seen between Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc, which aligns with what was recorded final 12 months: a Ferrari that doesn’t carry out at its finest in low-temperature circumstances (as seen in 2024 in China, Japan, Canada, and Las Vegas).
Within the first session, Lewis Hamilton accomplished 45 laps, partly resulting from a compulsory cease for all automobiles on monitor due to the anticipated rain. Within the first a part of the session, Lewis Hamilton continued with the info assortment program earlier than focusing extra on efficiency, persistently operating on C3 tires.
After the rain break, Hamilton accomplished a qualifying simulation, setting the perfect lap at 1’29”379. “We’re making nice progress in understanding the SF-25,” commented Lewis Hamilton, “and to date, reliability has been good, which is all the time a optimistic signal. We didn’t get as a lot monitor time as we hoped as a result of climate, however tomorrow we’ll have extra time to work on our program and acquire much more confidence with the automobile.”
Within the afternoon, Charles Leclerc began with a qualifying simulation (1’29”431 as his finest time, utilizing C3 tires) earlier than starting his deliberate lengthy runs over race distance. Charles accomplished the primary stint on C3 tires earlier than switching to C1 and C2. “As we speak was a extra sophisticated day on monitor,” commented Charles, “resulting from fairly uncommon climate circumstances for Bahrain, with low temperatures and even some rain. We adopted our deliberate program, however with the quickly altering climate, it was troublesome to attract many conclusions. We’re absolutely centered on analyzing the info collected and getting ready for the ultimate check day tomorrow.”
The final day of testing will see the Monegasque on monitor within the morning and the British driver within the afternoon session. This system will likely be equivalent, with a full race simulation assigned to Lewis Hamilton, whereas Charles Leclerc could have the final units of C3 and C4 tires out there for qualifying simulations, which Hamilton can even try on the finish of his session.
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