Ferrari brush aside lap time hype as real Bahrain test priority comes to light

Across the six days, Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc completed a total of 759 laps, covering 4,019 kilometres that engineers can now use to analyse the data and arrive in Melbourne with clearer answers from a project that so far appears to have started under very positive signs.

Added to that is an SF-26 that also delivered strong single-lap performance, with Leclerc setting the outright fastest time of the six days, alongside innovative technical solutions such as a rear wing flap capable of rotating on itself.

“It has been a positive test overall, but we have to keep in mind that the priority was to complete a lot of mileage and build a strong foundation for the season,” Vasseur said at the end of testing.

Across the final two hours of day three, the Monegasque focused on a series of qualifying-style attempts, progressively improving his lap time until setting a 1:31.992 — the only effort below the 1:32 mark — and finishing eight tenths ahead of the second-best time posted by Kimi Antonelli the previous day.

Alongside the headline pace, Ferrari also impressed with the reliability of its new power unit, while the SF-26 showed encouraging signs from the outset, even if a definitive picture of the pecking order will only become clear in Melbourne.