Bahrain Pre-Season Testing: Day 3 Recap

The final day of pre-season testing in Bahrain kicked off early for Kevin Magnussen with Haas F1 Team starting the day promptly at 9 a.m. – one hour ahead of the rest of the field as the team continued to recoup its lost time from earlier in the week thanks to an air freight delay. 

Magnussen quickly added to the 60 laps he recorded on Friday afternoon – where the Dane piloted the VF-22 to the top of the timesheets on his return to Formula 1. It wasn’t a problem-free morning for Magnussen however, a fuel system issue ending his run-plan earlier than planned as the team worked to rectify the issue before Schumacher’s afternoon program commenced. Magnussen recorded a total of 38 laps with a best lap of 1:38.616 set on the harder Pirelli C2 tire.

Schumacher, who was limited to just 23 laps on Friday, returned on Saturday in the later session to close out the test. The German enjoyed a productive outing steering the VF-22 – one which included an extended two-hour run into the evening to complete the making up of lost time. It was under the lights at the Bahrain International Circuit that Schumacher set the second fastest time of the day – a hot lap of 1:32.241 on the C4 tire. Schumacher bolstered his seat time in testing with a total of 85 laps on the day.

The record-breaking 23-race 2022 FIA Formula 1 World Championship launches next week with the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix, Sunday March 20.

Kevin Magnussen – Driver, No.20:

“The car has had a few issues and reliability is the main thing we’re working on to be able to run the whole race - that’s the biggest job for us to do. Performance-wise, we have a rough idea. We’ve seen some good trends in the car and we’ll see next week where we stack up but at least the feeling is pretty good.”

Mick Schumacher – Driver, No.47:

“In summary, we obviously haven’t been driving as much as we would’ve liked to. It’s a matter of are we quick or not and that’s what is positive – we are. We have a good car, we have something we can work with so everyone can be really happy and proud of themselves that we’ve achieved that. Now we have to be able to put it down on track when it matters, and that’s next week. I’m very much looking forward to what’s coming this year.”

Guenther Steiner – Team Principal:

“A very eventful second test this year with a driver change, and all three of our drivers were in the car and did laps. We had some issues during the test but then we had some good running, successful outings, so for the whole team it was a tough time, but a good time. We’re really looking forward now to the first race. We still have some work to do because we had some reliability issues, mainly small things we just need to fix to be as prepared as we have to be for the first race. I’m really looking forward to it.”
 

Today's Data

Date: Saturday, March 12
Location: Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir
Layout:     5.412-kilometer (3.363-mile), 15-turn track 
Drivers: Kevin Magnussen (MAG) / Mick Schumacher (MSC)
Laps / Distance: MAG – 38 laps / 205.656 kilometers (127.794 miles)
Laps / Distance: MSC – 85 laps / 460.02 kilometers (285.855 miles)  
Best Lap Time: MAG – 1:38.616 (18th overall) / MSC – 1:32.241 (2nd overall)
Fastest Lap: 1:31.720 by Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing
Most Laps: 124 laps by Nicholas Latifi of Williams