“Reading into lap-times is even more difficult this year” – Sebastian Vettel

It was a solid final day of pre-season testing at the Bahrain International Circuit for the Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team, where both drivers got one final session behind the wheel of the AMR22.

Four-Time World Champion, Sebastian Vettel, was behind the wheel for the majority of the day, the German completed a respectable 81 laps on the final day. His best time of the day was a 1:33.821, however times are fairly irrelevant during testing. Across the three days Vettel completed 166 laps, with almost half of those coming on the final day at Bahrain.

Vettel is happy with the progress the team has made across the test, the German also noted at just how different the cars are this year.

“We ran through our programme and completed a lot of laps this afternoon, which capped a positive three days of testing in Bahrain. Lap times are largely irrelevant, so our focus has been on increasing our understanding of the AMR22. I am happy with the progress we have made, and we know it is going to be a long season of constantly trying to find further improvements.

“These cars are very different; you definitely notice the increased weight and it makes the cars a bit ‘lazier’ to drive. Everyone is coming across similar challenges and that’s part of the game. I think reading into lap-times is even more difficult this year but, behind the usual leading teams, it is a tight pack, so I expect fierce competition. Nobody really knows where they stand yet, and this coming week will be important in making sure we hit the ground running in Bahrain.”

“The learning curve has been much greater this year” – Lance Stroll

Lance Stroll spent less time behind the wheel than his team-mate did on the final day, the Canadian still managed to put 53 laps together though, bringing his three day total to 173 laps.

Stroll believes he has learnt a lot from the test in Bahrain, which he thinks is the perfect venue for pre-season testing.

“We have learned a lot across the test, and every session with the car has been useful in progressing it further. Bahrain is a great circuit for testing the limits of the car in low- and high-speed corners, so it is positive that we were able to complete the programme as planned. It was quite windy at times, and that affected the cars on track.

“One of the big things around here is discovering how late you can brake, so those tail- and headwinds have quite an impact, as we discovered. All-in-all, it has been a productive test and there is a lot of data to go over to make sure we’re in the best possible position for the start of the season. The learning curve has been much greater this year, and I am enjoying working closely with the team to make improvements.”

Credit: Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One Team