Bahrain-J8: Hamilton and Mercedes conclude tests

Lewis Hamilton only missed first place by two hundredths behind. The pilot Mercedes achieved a time of 1'33"278 on the final day of winter testing in Bahrain despite a gearbox problem which shortened the Brackley team's program. Williams F1 Team also suffered a problem with the FW6's V36. But Valtteri Bottas still had a great day with 108 laps covered and the second fastest time of the day.

La Team Ferrari concludes testing with a good performance with the third time of Fernando Alonso, despite a slight problem towards the end of the day. The double world champion completed 74 laps like the Force India VJM07 of Nico Hulkenberg and Toro Rosso STR9 of Jean-Éric Vergne, the Faenza team appearing to be the client team of Renault the fittest at the end of the winter tests. If Valtteri Bottas was the most diligent driver with 108 laps on the clock, it was Sauber F1 Team who was the most productive with 91 laps covered by Adrian Sutil and 86 by Esteban Gutiérrez.

Red Bull Racing will have difficulty raising his head two weeks before the Australian Grand Prix. If Sebastian Vettel was able to complete 77 loops with a problem occurring at the front of the car before the break, the RB10 only got the ninth fastest time. McLaren also had a tough day with only 21 laps for Jenson Button's MP4-29. Lotus F1 Team was only able to complete 32 laps with Romain Grosjean, following a broken exhaust and an engine problem on the E22. On the other hand, Caterham F1 Team was able to pass the 100 lap mark with Kamui Kobayashi despite a clutch problem which shortened the day for the CT05. Rival Marussia completed 61 laps with Max Chilton setting the seventh fastest time of the day despite electrical problems on the MR03.

The final day of winter testing was marked by eight interruptions which forced the stewards to extend the tests by 25 minutes.

Results of day 8 in Bahrain

1. Lewis Hamilton? Mercedes? 1’33”278? 70 rounds
2. Valtteri Bottas? Williams +0 »709 ? 108 rounds
3. Fernando Alonso? Ferrari +1”002? 74 rounds
4. Nico Hülkenberg? Force India +2 »299? 74 rounds
5. Jean-Éric Vergne? Toro Rosso +2”423? 74 rounds
6. Adrian Sutil? Sauber +3 »189? 91 rounds
7. Max Chilton? Marussia +3 »557? 61 rounds
8. Esteban Gutiérrez? Sauber +4 »025? 86 rounds
9. Sebastian Vettel? Red Bull +4”190? 77 rounds
10. Jenson Button? McLaren +4 »833? 21 rounds
11. Kamui Kobayashi? Caterham +5 »113 ? 106 rounds
12. Romain Grosjean? Lotus +6 »024? 32 rounds

Discover the analysis of the last week of winter testing in Bahrain carried out by our special correspondents in issue 1950 of AUTOhebdo, available from Monday at 22 p.m. in digital version on all platforms, and from Wednesday on newsstands.