Max Verstappen led the afternoon of the last test session of the 2022 preseason in Bahrain, with a mark that left his closest pursuers more than half a second and the rest of his rivals more than a second.
Yes, the teams hide their cards in the tests and everyone knows that drawing conclusions in the winter tests is usually of little use. In fact, Max Verstappen’s time was on the supersoft tyre , the so-called Pirelli C5 , the fastest in the range.
(Before reading on, check out Verstappen’s lap at the Bahrain tests)
However, the director of the Italian tire manufacturer, Mario Isola , revealed why this weather can scare his rivals and makes the Dutch driver the favorite for the start of a season in which he will fight to retain the championship won in 2021.
Speaking to a group of media including Motorsport.com, Isola defined the Bahrain tests as very positive for Pirelli, despite the high temperatures (almost 50ºC on the track) and the track conditions.
Pirelli will bring its three hardest compounds, C1, C2 and C3, to the season-opening Bahrain GP, with the mediums (C3, yellow) being the softest option this weekend. That’s where the tire supplier wanted to influence, but the teams also tested the C4 and C5 and with them came the fastest times.
“We were more focused on C1, C2 and C3 because those are the three compounds that we have selected for the race, but the teams also used C4 and C5. And honestly, looking at the lap time Max did with the C5 on the last afternoon , I was impressed”.
Explaining the reason for his surprise with the Red Bull Dutchman’s time, Isola continued: “It was 2.5 or 2.6 seconds slower than the lap time on the same compound last year, but this is a circuit that doesn’t It is one of those that we believe will have times close to those of 2021. And 2.5 or 2.6 seconds of difference with a compound that is not ideal, where the level of degradation is not as expected, and the circuit that is not ideal for the new car, it demonstrates a good level of performance”.
“If we take into account that in the tests everyone hides their real performance and here they are only two and a half seconds slower than last year, I have to say that the new cars are quite fast.
Except for George Russell, the rest of the drivers in the top 5 (Mick Schumacher, Charles Leclerc and Fernando Alonso) made their best lap with C4 tires, a step less soft and in theory slower. However, Isola explains why that difference would be real and would have nothing to do with the defending champion running C5 supersofts.
“If you look at the delta between C4 and C5 the difference is almost nothing, but because the C5 is not running real performance here.”
And speaking more specifically about the difference between Verstappen and the first Ferrari, he insisted: “The delta between both compounds, as I said, is almost zero, because the C5 starts to degrade before the end of the first lap. So we should better analyze the sectors that the full turn…”.
“On the lap out of the pits, especially with soft compounds C4, C5, they were managing the pace not to get too hot in the tyre. But C5, to be honest, doesn’t seem to be the compound for Bahrain. So, It doesn’t allow us to show the real performance of the C5, just as we couldn’t in Barcelona because they are not ideal circuits for the C5 compound”.
“The C4 wasn’t working badly here. It didn’t last too long, of course, but for the fastest lap runs the C4 was fine. The C5 wasn’t, it was too extreme.”
We insist, we must always keep in mind that the tests never reveal the truth and probably until Saturday (in qualifying for the Bahrain GP) we will not see a real picture. But Verstappen’s lap, with that time difference and a tire that not only did not reach its optimum point but, according to Pirelli, did not manage to complete the entire track at the highest level, make the RB18 in the hands of the defending champion a car to fear.
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