2022 Bahrain Test | |||
---|---|---|---|
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Test Information | |||
Date | 10–12 March 2022 | ||
Location | |||
Lap length | 5.412 km (3.364 mi) | ||
Fastest Lap | |||
Driver | |||
Team | |||
Time | Day | Laps | |
1:31.720 | 3 | 53 | |
Testing Guide | |||
Previous 2022 Barcelona Test |
Next 2022 Abu Dhabi Test |
The 2022 Bahrain Test (officially the Formula 1 Aramco Pre-Season Testing 2022) is the second of two pre-season tests ahead of the 2022 Formula One season, staged at the Bahrain International Circuit between 10 to 12 March 2022.[1] All ten entrants to the 2022 season are taking part.[2]
Background[]
Following the previous test, a number of teams are expected to introduce aero upgrades to their cars and carry them over to the opening race of the season which is to take place at the same location a week after. A prominent issue found in the new 2022 cars is "porpoising", the name describes a car mimicking the movement of a porpoise as it travels through water.
Porpoising is a phenomenon where the cars bounce up and down on the straights at high speed. This is caused by the design of the new cars being mostly dependent on "ground-effects", which makes use of a three-dimensional undercarraige, or floor, to create the majority of a car's downforce. As the car's speed increases, the aerodynamic devices in the car's floor pulls it down and compresses the suspension. As this compression surpasses a point where it reduces enough of the airflow under the car, the effects of the downforce will be reduced, which causes the car to lift back up. When this lifting happens, the downforce gets resurrected and will want to compress the suspension downwards again. This cycle repeats itself, which makes the car look like a porpoise as it bounces up and down the circuit.
Not only does porpoising make these newer generation cars look silly, it also negatively affects the balance of the car making it difficult for drivers to control the car. Moreover, it causes vibrations, which obstructs the drivers' visibility; a potential safety concern. Teams are actively working on solutions for this issue.
Following Russia's invasion on Ukraine since February 24, Haas announced on March 5 that they have terminated their contract with driver Nikita Mazepin and title sponsor Uralkali. A couple days later, Haas confirmed Pietro Fittipaldi will be testing for them in Bahrain, but they were still considering other options for the full-time race seat.[3] On the eve to the start of this test, Haas announced they will be bring back Kevin Magnussen to fill the seat vacated by Mazepin.
Teams and Drivers[]
Entry List[]
The full entry list for the 2022 Bahrain Test is shown in the table below:
Driver Schedules[]
Ricciardo tested positive for COVID-19 and hence, missed the entire testing session altogether. Use the button below to display table that shows when a driver was out on track.
Constructor | Day 1 AM |
Day 1 PM |
Day 2 AM |
Day 2 PM |
Day 3 AM |
Day 3 PM |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Alfa Romeo | Zhou | Bottas | Bottas | Zhou | Zhou | Bottas |
AlphaTauri | Gasly | Tsunoda | Gasly | Tsunoda | ||
Alpine | Ocon | Alonso | Ocon | Alonso | ||
Aston Martin | Vettel | Stroll | Vettel | Stroll | Stroll | Vettel |
Ferrari | Leclerc | Sainz | Leclerc | Sainz | Sainz | Leclerc |
Haas | DNP | Fittipaldi | Schumacher | Magnussen | Magnussen | Schumacher |
McLaren | Norris | Norris | Norris | |||
Mercedes | Hamilton | Russell | Russell | Hamilton | Hamilton | Russell |
Red Bull | Pérez | Verstappen | Pérez | Verstappen | ||
Williams | Albon | Latifi | Latifi | Albon |
Day-by-Day[]
Day One[]
Due to a late arriving freight shipment, Haas did not participate in the morning session. Since it isn't their fault they had to miss out on 4-hours of precious testing time, they will be allowed to run later into the evening to make up the lost hours.[5] There was a lot of attention brought towards Mercedes for their W13's sidepods, or lack thereof.[6] Sergio Pérez got the most mileage with 70 laps completed. Lando Norris had to sit out for most of the morning due to issues with his McLaren MCL36's new brake parts. Overall, the morning session saw Charles Leclerc set the fastest time, followed by Alex Albon then Sebastian Vettel.
The afternoon session saw Sergio Pérez add 67 laps to keep his record for having completed the most laps; 137 laps, 741.44 km (460.71 mi). Pietro Fittipaldi got his first run with the new 2022 Haas VF-22. There were two red flags that interrupted the afternoon session; the first was caused by Lance Stroll's aero rake malfunctioning and causing damage to his Aston Martin AMR22 and the second was caused by Perez who beached his Red Bull RB18 in the gravel trap during the last 10 minutes of the day, which resulted in the session not being resumed and ending under a red flag.
Overall, Pierre Gasly (pictured right) was fastest on the first day of the 2022 Bahrain Test. Gasly was half a second faster than both the Ferrari drivers when he used the softest tyre compound after the sun went down and the track cooled. Gasly effectively denied a Ferrari one-two from Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc, who were second and third fastest, respectively.
Results[]
The full results from the first day of the 2022 Bahrain Test are outlined below:
Pos. | No. | Driver | Constructor | Laps | Time | Gap | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
S1 | S2 | ||||||
1 | 10 | 102 | 1:37.888 ![]() |
1:33.902 ![]() |
Fastest | ||
2 | 55 | 52 | — | 1:34.359 ![]() |
+0.457s | ||
3 | 16 | 64 | 1:34.531 ![]() |
— | +0.629s | ||
4 | 18 | 50 | — | 1:34.736 ![]() |
+0.834s | ||
5 | 23 | 104 | 1:35.070* ![]() |
+1.168s | |||
6 | 4 | 49 | 1:37.580 ![]() |
1:35.356 ![]() |
+1.454s | ||
7 | 24 | 66 | — | 1:35.495 ![]() |
+1.593s | ||
8 | 5 | 39 | 1:35.706 ![]() |
— | +1.804s | ||
9 | 63 | 59 | — | 1:35.941 ![]() |
+2.039s | ||
10 | 11 | 137 | 1:35.977* ![]() |
+2.075s | |||
11 | 44 | 62 | 1:36.365 ![]() |
— | +2.463s | ||
12 | 14 | 24 | — | 1:36.745 ![]() |
+2.843s | ||
13 | 31 | 42 | 1:36.768 ![]() |
— | +2.866s | ||
14 | 24 | 54 | 1:37.164 ![]() |
— | +3.262s | ||
15 | 51 | 47 | — | 1:37.422 ![]() |
+3.520s | ||
Source:[7][8] |
Day Two[]
Most of the teams decided to simulate long runs, where they aimed to simulate an actual race by driving consistent laps to gauge race pace. Halfway through the morning session, a fire broke out at the rear of the Williams FW44, which required Latifi to stop on track and trigger a red flag. After his car was towed back to the pit lane, the session was resumed at 12:16 local time. Vettel had to stop his Aston Martin AMR22 on track for an unknown reason but did not trigger a red flag since he pulled off to an unused part of the circuit. Haas experienced an exhaust problem, which ended their morning session early; they expect to address it in time for the afternoon session where Kevin Magnussen will take the wheel. In the closing moments, there was a planned testing of the race control systems which saw a red flag. There was also a practice standing start, but this was aborted because Bottas was told to shut off his Alfa Romeo C42 due to an oil leak. Overall, the morning saw Ocon set the fastest time on the C4 tyres, followed by Leclerc then Verstappen.
The afternoon session did not see Latifi make it back out since Williams was unable to get the fire damage fixed. They issued a statement saying it was a minor problem that caused the fire. There were some drivers that showed off their race craft with some overtaking and defending. McLaren confirmed that Daniel Ricciardo's absence from testing was due to feeling ill and confirmed with to be COVID-19 with a positive PCR test.
Overall, the second day saw Carlos Sainz topping the timing screens on the C4 tyres with a 1:33.532. He was followed by Max Verstappen and Lance Stroll. Yuki Tsunoda accumulated the most mileage with 119 laps completed. However, Magnussen set the overall fastest time later with 1:33.207 on the same tyre compound as Sainz, after Haas were given permission to have an extra hour of running having missed the morning of Day 1 testing.[9]
Results[]
The full results from the second day of the 2022 Bahrain Test are outlined below:
Pos. | No. | Driver | Constructor | Laps | Time | Gap | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
S1 | S2 | ||||||
1 | 55 | 60 | — | 1:33.532 ![]() |
Fastest | ||
2 | 1 | 86 | 1:35.874 ![]() |
1:34.011 ![]() |
+0.479s | ||
3 | 18 | 69 | — | 1:34.064 ![]() |
+0.532s | ||
4 | 44 | 47 | 1:38.585 ![]() |
1:34.141 ![]() |
+0.609s | ||
5 | 31 | 111 | 1:34.276* ![]() |
+0.744s | |||
6 | 16 | 54 | 1:34.366 ![]() |
— | +0.834s | ||
7 | 4 | 59 | 1:36.354 ![]() |
1:34.609 ![]() |
+1.077s | ||
8 | 5 | 46 | 1:36.020 ![]() |
— | +2.488s | ||
9 | 20 | 39 | — | 1:36.505 ![]() |
+2.973s | ||
10 | 22 | 119 | 1:36.802* ![]() |
+3.270s | |||
11 | 77 | 25 | 1:36.987 ![]() |
— | +3.455s | ||
12 | 47 | 23 | 1:37.846 ![]() |
— | +4.314s | ||
13 | 63 | 66 | 1:38.585 ![]() |
— | +5.053s | ||
14 | 6 | 12 | 1:39.845 ![]() |
— | +6.313s | ||
15 | 24 | 48 | — | 1:39.984 ![]() |
+6.452s | ||
Source:[10][11] |
Day Three[]
The final day of testing at the Bahrain International Circuit saw Kevin Magnussen and his Haas VF-22 out on track an hour early. Then later in the afternoon, Schumacher will run two hours later into the evening than the rest of the teams. These three extra hours, in addition to the one extra hour on the second day that saw Magnussen set the fastest time yesterday[9], will make up for the lost time that plagued the Haas team due to their late cargo.
In the closing moments of the afternoon session, the failed starting light systems test from the second day was carried out successfully. We got the infamous "Lights out and away we go" from the Sky Sports commentators, however, there was no wheel-to-wheel action into the first turn.
Officially, the top three times were recorded by Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc, and Fernando Alonso. However, the extra two hours that Mick Schumacher ran after the official session ended, slots him into second place with a 1.32.241. It is unknown which tyre compound he set his fastest lap or how many additional laps he ran late into the evening.
Results[]
The full results from the third day of the 2022 Bahrain Test are outlined below:
Pos. | No. | Driver | Constructor | Laps | Time | Gap | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
S1 | S2 | ||||||
1 | 1 | 53 | — | 1:31.720 ![]() |
Leader | ||
2 | 16 | 51 | — | 1:32.415 ![]() |
+0.695s | ||
3 | 14 | 122 | 1:35.328 ![]() |
1:32.698 ![]() |
+0.978s | ||
4 | 63 | 71 | — | 1:32.759 ![]() |
+1.039s | ||
5 | 77 | 68 | — | 1:32.985 ![]() |
+1.265s | ||
6 | 22 | 57 | — | 1:33.002 ![]() |
+1.282s | ||
7 | 11 | 43 | 1:33.105 ![]() |
— | +1.385s | ||
8 | 47 | 57 | — | 1:33.151 ![]() |
+1.431s | ||
9 | 4 | 39 | 1:35.504 ![]() |
1:33.191 ![]() |
+1.471s | ||
10 | 5 | 81 | — | 1:33.821 ![]() |
+2.101s | ||
11 | 24 | 82 | 1:33.959 ![]() |
— | +2.239s | ||
12 | 10 | 91 | 1:34.865 ![]() |
— | +3.145s | ||
13 | 55 | 68 | 1:34.905 ![]() |
— | +3.185s | ||
14 | 23 | 18 | — | 1:35.171 ![]() |
+3.451s | ||
15 | 6 | 73 | 1:35.634 ![]() |
— | +3.914s | ||
16 | 18 | 53 | 1:36.029 ![]() |
— | +4.309s | ||
17 | 44 | 78 | 1:36.217 ![]() |
— | +4.497s | ||
18 | 20 | 38 | 1:38.616 ![]() |
— | +6.896s | ||
Source:[12][13] |
Overall Times[]
Daniel Ricciardo did not participate due to testing positive for COVID-19. Mick Schumacher and Kevin Magnussen ran laps outside of the official testing hours, so the number of laps and tyre compounds used are not known. Other than that, see below for a compilated table of the best times for each driver across three days of testing in Bahrain ahead of the 2022 Formula One season.
Pos. | No. | Driver | Constructor | Day | Laps | Time | Gap |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1 | 3 | 139 | 1:31.720 ![]() |
Fastest | ||
2 | 47 | 3 | 80+ | 1.32.241 ![]() |
+0.521s | ||
3 | 16 | 3 | 169 | 1:32.415 ![]() |
+0.695s | ||
4 | 14 | 3 | 146 | 1:32.698 ![]() |
+0.978s | ||
5 | 63 | 3 | 196 | 1:32.759 ![]() |
+1.039s | ||
6 | 77 | 3 | 159 | 1:32.985 ![]() |
+1.265s | ||
7 | 22 | 3 | 176 | 1:33.002 ![]() |
+1.282s | ||
8 | 11 | 3 | 180 | 1:33.105 ![]() |
+1.385s | ||
9 | 4 | 3 | 147 | 1:33.191 ![]() |
+1.471s | ||
10 | 20 | 2 | 77+ | 1:33.207 ![]() |
+1.487s | ||
11 | 55 | 2 | 180 | 1:33.532 ![]() |
+1.812s | ||
12 | 5 | 3 | 166 | 1:33.821 ![]() |
+2.101s | ||
13 | 10 | 1 | 193 | 1:33.902 ![]() |
+2.182s | ||
14 | 24 | 3 | 184 | 1:33.959 ![]() |
+2.239s | ||
15 | 18 | 2 | 103 | 1:34.064 ![]() |
+2.344s | ||
16 | 44 | 2 | 187 | 1:34.141 ![]() |
+2.421s | ||
17 | 31 | 2 | 153 | 1:34.276 ![]() |
+2.556s | ||
18 | 23 | 1 | 122 | 1:35.070 ![]() |
+3.350s | ||
19 | 6 | 3 | 85 | 1:35.634 ![]() |
+3.914s | ||
20 | 51 | 1 | 47 | 1:37.422 ![]() |
+5.702s |
References[]
- ↑ 2022 pre-season testing dates in Barcelona and Bahrain confirmed | Formula 1® | https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.breaking-2022-pre-season-testing-dates-in-barcelona-and-bahrain-confirmed.3ZwPqa2c9GFqg7mFTDubau.html | Accessed on 26 Jan 2022
- ↑ Motorsport.com: F1 set to approve Barcelona and Bahrain 2022 test plan, https://us.motorsport.com/f1/news/barcelona-bahrain-2022-f1-test-plan-set-for-approval/6638584/, retrieved on 7 December 2021
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Haas confirms Pietro Fittipaldi for Bahrain test, motorsport.com, accessed on 7 Mar 2022
- ↑ Entry List: 2022 FIA Formula One World Championship Entry List | Federation Internationale de l'Automobile
- ↑ Haas Sunday test request rejected, can run longer in evenings - The Race (the-race.com)
- ↑ https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/mercedes-radical-sidepod-bahrain-test/8861900
- ↑ Pierre Gasly fastest on Day 1 of Official 2022 Pre-Season Test in Bahrain | Formula 1®
- ↑ F1 testing 2022 Bahrain day 1 - The Race (the-race.com)
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 ESPN: Kevin Magnussen fastest on F1 return; Ferrari hype builds ahead of Bahrain Grand Prix (espn.com), https://www.espn.com/f1/story/_/id/33477505/kevin-magnussen-fastest-f1-return-ferrari-hype-builds-ahead-bahrain-grand-prix
- ↑ Carlos Sainz fastest on disrupted second day of 2022 pre-season testing in Bahrain | Formula 1®
- ↑ F1 testing 2022 Bahrain day 2 - The Race (the-race.com)
- ↑ 2022 F1 Official Pre-Season Testing Day 3 report and results: Verstappen sets blistering benchmark to go top on final day of 2022 pre-season testing | Formula 1®
- ↑ F1 testing 2022 Bahrain day 3 - The Race (the-race.com)
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