The good news is that the Aston Martin AMR26 rolled without serious incidents. In a contained way, without seeking the maximum of its benefits either. After all, this black car, without paint or sponsors, extreme in terms of aerodynamic details and extraterrestrial workmanship, Just a few days ago I didn’t belong on this planet. Alonso piloted Newey’s work throughout the day, There were no kilometers for Stroll, and he comfortably exceeded half a hundred laps in his real debut (61). The records were discreet, he clocked a 1:20.795 which is not comparable with the fastest this week in Barcelona.
Alonso drove throughout the day, with numerous installation laps and also stops in the garage. There were, apparently, no serious alterations due to reliability. Nor does it give the impression that much was demanded of the Honda power unit. The Japanese manufacturer is the biggest victim of this risky presentation in the tests: all the engine builders have done many kilometers in Montmeló, especially Mercedes with three teams on the track. But Honda leaves short of kilometers with one day and one hour of runs. But if this was already a very premature test for the entire grid, Aston Martin has interpreted it as a simple contact. In training Bahrain will have to show its conditions, and who knows what the design genius will surprise with then.
On a visual level, the impact of the AMR26 is absolute. There is consensus in the pit-lane. But it is a fact that it is weeks behind compared to the big ones. Ferrari leaves with the honor of having achieved the fastest lap in Montmeló, a 1:16.348 that Hamilton signed at the horn to beat Russell’s time by less than a tenth. They resemble qualifying simulations with soft tires. In fact, the strongest teams have used common schemes in this preseason: checks on the first day, race simulation on the second and short runs on the third. The case of Mercedes was obvious. Three drivers and three cars have lapped in 1:16. In addition to Ferrari and Mercedes, also Norris with the McLaren. It is a symptom that when they wanted to push, the benefits began to appear.
Verstappen did not make those kinds of attempts this Friday on his best day of testing. It had been racing on Tuesday, but it rained, and Hadjar’s subsequent accident left the Red Bull in dry dock for two days. He removed the thorn on the last day with 118 laps. Although Gasly’s is a beating: 164 steps per goal with a Very solid Alpine that seems like the reference for the middle classeven if it is due to the non-appearance of the rest: Aston arrived late and Williams is not there. For the rest, Audi closed the week with 148 laps that consider its reliability problems resolved, although the times were not so ambitious. Cadillac had made filming day and it has been running since Monday, but even the Aston in its original version is already ahead in the time table. Next stop, more testing in Sakhir (February 11-13 and 18-20).
Times and laps:
1. L. Hamilton (GBr/Ferrari) 1:16.348 (67)
2. L. Norris (GBr/McLaren) 1:16.594 (86)
3. Ch. Leclerc (Món/Ferrari) 1:16.653 (80)
4. O. Piastri (Aus/McLaren) 1.17.446 (80)
5. M. Verstappen (PBa/Red Bull) 1:17.586 (118)
6 P. Gasly (From/Alpine) 1.17.707 (164)
7. E. Ocon (Fra/Haas) 1:18.393 (89)
8. O. Bearman (GBr/Haas) 1:18.423 (106)
9. N. Hulkenberg (Ale/Audi) 1:19.870 (81)
10. G. Bortoleto (Audi) 1:20.179 (67)
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11. F. Alonso (Aston Martin) 1:20.795 (61)
12. V. Bottas (Fin/Cadillac) 1:22.790 (54)
