Ferrari concluded the 2024 Formula 1 pre-season tests on a high note, with Charles Leclerc outperforming Mercedes’ George Russell to secure the fastest time on the third day. Leclerc’s impressive lap of 1m30.322s, although not the fastest overall, proved to be the quickest of the day. Russell also had a great performance, finishing just 0.046 seconds behind Leclerc with a lap time of 1m30.368s. Sauber’s Zhou Guanyu secured third place with a late flying lap that was 0.325s behind the benchmark. Max Verstappen, who had been a strong competitor to Leclerc, finished four tenths behind in his Red Bull.
The Ferrari team demonstrated their competitiveness throughout the testing period, both in terms of fast laps and long-run simulations. A comparison between Ferrari and Red Bull was possible during the last two hours of testing, which focused mainly on long races. Leclerc’s sequence of 10 laps on the C1 tire, the hardest compound available, proved to be faster than Verstappen’s performance. However, it should be noted that Verstappen used a harder C3 compound, which is the intermediate option for testing but the softest tire available for the upcoming Bahrain Grand Prix.
Yuki Tsunoda and Alex Albon also made their mark in the final stages, completing fast laps on the C4 tires. Tsunoda managed to stay within half a second of Leclerc’s pace, while Albon, who completed the entire day for Williams, finished two tenths behind. McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso also logged significant mileage during the last two hours. Their earlier efforts in fast laps on the C3 tires placed them in seventh and eighth places, respectively.
Despite a slow start for McLaren due to a reported clutch issue that limited Lando Norris to only 20 laps, Piastri made up for lost time in the afternoon, completing 91 laps. Carlos Sainz and Sergio Perez, who ran more than other drivers during the morning session, completed the top 10 at the end of the day.
Nico Hulkenberg set the fastest time for Haas during the afternoon session, finishing 11th overall with a lap time of 1m31.686s, 1.3 seconds off the pace.
Here is the final ranking of the drivers’ lap times:
1. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) – 1m30.322s
2. George Russell (Mercedes) – +0.046s
3. Zhou Guanyu (Sauber) – +0.325s
4. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) – +0.433s
5. Yuki Tsunoda (Red Bull) – +0.453s
6. Alex Albon (Williams) – +0.662s
7. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) – +0.708s
8. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) – +0.837s
9. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) – +0.925s
10. Sergio Perez (Red Bull) – +1.161s
11. Nico Hulkenberg (Haas) – +1.364s
12. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) – +1.677s
13. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) – +1.716s
14. Lando Norris (McLaren) – +1.786s
15. Pierre Gasly (Alpine) – +1.827s
16. Kevin Magnussen (Haas) – +2.731s
17. Esteban Ocon (Alpine) – +2.757s
18. Valtteri Bottas (Sauber) – +3.206s
19. Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull) – +6.693s
