Pre-season testing for the 2023 session has come to a close and the teams have gathered a considerable amount of data on their new machinery. Some did better than others but overall it was a decent three days for all involved.

Red Bull: In the least surprising news to come out of this week, Red Bull have shown to be very quick in Bahrain. Their cars topped two days on the timesheets and didn’t seem to have any issues.

Ferrari: Ferrari seemed reasonably quick however they do seem to have an issue with some flexible parts on the front wing. I think they will be up at the front once again this year.

Mercedes: A mixed bag for Mercedes at testing with a few rapid laps today on the soft tyres however they are reporting some issues especially with Russell stopping on track yesterday with a hydraulic issue.

Alpine: Alpine don’t seem to be particularly quick or have any interesting things to report – how they will do this year is a bit of an unknown!

McLaren: A barrage of issues has hit McLaren with them completing the least laps of any team in testing. Piastri span on track and they don’t seem to be showing much promise on track (especially with the rumours about development).

AlphaTauri: An awful lot of laps completed from AlphaTauri (the most of any team) which could be an indicator that last year’s reliability concerns have been quashed although they don’t seem all that quick.

Aston Martin: The consistent surprise of testing as it seems Lawrence Stroll’s promises of Aston being a proper contender could come to fruition as with Alonso at the wheel they’ve been consistently quick – Stroll’s injuries could throw a spanner in the works though.

Alfa Romeo: A shock top of the timesheets on Friday for Zhou could be a sign of a bit of pace in that Alfa however the reliability issues that beset the team last season don’t seem have gone anywhere with Bottas stopping on track.

Haas: No issues but no super quick times for Haas, I think it’ll be another mediocre midfield season for them with strong points on fortuitous occasions.

Williams: Williams have done a significant number of laps (second highest) with no issues and also seem to be creeping up the timesheets however it may not be an indication of performance.

What did you think of testing?

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