Sainz debuts the Ferrari and Alonso throws the team on his back

Cards on the table. Formula 1 officially begins its preseason with the Bahrain tests, from Thursday 23 to Saturday 25 February. There will be three days from 8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Spanish time (two more in Manama), three morning sessions and as many afternoon sessions to evaluate the 2023 single-seaters, refine them and finish them off with the first evolutions before the Bahrain GP (January 5). March). All the cars have already been presented, although some like the Red Bull have not shown even an inch of the real RB19. In any case, all have already rolled on the asphalt through filming days and other stratagems allowed by the regulations.

The afternoon kilometers are the most valuable because the track conditions are comparable to qualifying and the race, and it is also more useful to ride as the end of practice approaches. That is why Alonso ‘cedes’ the Aston Martin to the substitute Drugovich (Stroll is absent due to a bicycle accident) in the first laps of the installation. It is understood that the Spaniard will drive the AMR23 in the most relevant sessions because the team needs ‘feedback’ from a starter, not from a ‘rookie’. On this first day, Carlos Sainz will debut the Ferrari SF-23 and Leclerc will get on in the afternoon. Among the surprises in the distribution of work, Verstappen will finish his contribution on Friday and leave Pérez on Saturday.

F1 test lineups in Bahrain