Lewis Hamilton tops final day of 2022 F1 testing

Lewis Hamilton topped the time-sheets on the final day of the F1 pre-season test at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona. The British champion led his team-mate, George Russell, to complete the top-two finish for Mercedes.

The Mercedes F1 team drivers managed to recover mileage from the previous days, completing a total of 393 laps in three days, the second-highest by any team in the Barcelona test. The team complained of balance issues over the first two days but was able to attempt a few sprint laps on the final day.

Hamilton’s fastest lap was clocked at 1 minute 19.138 seconds on the softest tire compound, C5. The seven-time world champion outpaced Russell by a narrow margin of 0.095 seconds. Red Bull driver Sergio Perez was third fastest with his fastest lap clocked on the C4 compound. The Mexican was followed by his Dutch team-mate Max Verstappen, who clocked the fourth fastest lap on the C3 compound.

The Red Bull F1 team drivers were evidently masking their pace as neither attempted a sprint run on the softest compound. Verstappen, who was six tenths slower than Hamilton, was on a significantly harder compound and remained unbothered about shifting to the softer compounds. The Milton Keynes-based squad racked up a total of 127 laps on the final day. After three days of testing, the two drivers completed a total of 358 laps.

Aston Martin driver Sebastian Vettel clocked the fifth-fastest lap and was in the top 10 for the third consecutive day. His team-mate Lance Stroll, however, did not test the car on the final day. Ferrari F1 team drivers Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz clocked the sixth and seventh fastest lap on the C3 tires. Together, the Ferrari duo managed to rack up 130 laps in total. In an undoubtable display of reliability, Ferrari has completed the maximum number of laps by any team with a total of 439 laps in three days.

Williams F1 team drivers Alex Albon and Nicholas Latifi clocked the eighth and ninth fastest laps of the day in the C4 tire compound. McLaren F1 team driver Daniel Ricciardo completed the top 10 with the tenth fastest lap on the C3 compound, while his team-mate Lando Norris followed him with the 11th fastest lap of the day on the same compound.

The McLaren F1 team drivers were similar to the Red Bull drivers, reluctant to use the C5 tire and focused on racking mileage instead. The Woking-based team's drivers racked up a combined total mileage of 132 laps on day 3. This makes their overall mileage the third highest in the test, with the Papaya Orange squad completing a total of 367 laps over three days of testing.

The evening session witnessed the tarmac being prepared for wet tire testing, with tankers spraying water across the circuit. Much of the run time on the final day was consumed by the wet tire tests, with a few teams bothering to attempt sprint runs.

There were five red flags throughout the day, with Fernando Alonso triggering the first after his car caught fire at its rear due to a hydraulics issue. AlphaTauri driver Pierre Gasly brought out the second red flag when he went off at Turn 5 of the circuit and damaged his car.

Sebastian Vettel's was the third stoppage of the day after an oil leak caused the engine to catch fire. Alfa Romeo rookie Guanyu Zhou brought out the other two red flags in two separate incidents.

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Key takeaways from final day of F1 test in Barcelona

It was clear that Mercedes wanted to flaunt their pace on the softest compound tires, while their rivals Red Bull, Ferrari, and McLaren remained unbothered to make switches to the C5 compound. The Silver Arrows squad managed to sort out their balance issues for the final day, but still have a chassis design that might be inferior in comparison to their rivals.

The Red Bull F1 team drivers, meanwhile, were heavily sandbagging and seemed to be on a different simulation program. Their 2022 car, however, seems to have better handling than its predecessor and looks extremely quick around the circuit. The team is yet to show their hand, and have tried various aerodynamic concepts in the last three days. Their drivers’ comfort with the car and its balance, however, made them the standout of the pack.

Ferrari and McLaren seemed to be on a different simulation program. Both teams did not clock any competitive laps on Day 3, but their dominance in the first two days was an indicator of their competitiveness. They were busy completing their mileage targets but looked stronger and more competitive than Mercedes in many areas such as the balance and handling of their cars.

In the speed traps on the final day, there was not much difference between the Mercedes and Red Bull drivers. They were marginally separated by a difference of a kilometer per hour.

While it's still early days, one can expect all four front runners to return to the Bahrain test with completely different cars or upgraded versions of the same. With budget caps and limited development tokens at their disposal, it will be interesting to see how the final preseason test determines the pecking order before the season opener.