Pre-Season Testing: Day 3 Recap

MoneyGram Haas F1 Team drivers Ollie Bearman and Esteban Ocon racked up an additional 162 laps on Friday to take the American outfit’s final lap count in testing to 457 laps – 2473.28 kilometers (1536.89 miles).

Bearman was first out behind the wheel of the VF-25 – sharply as pit-lane opened at 10:00 local. The Brit enjoyed a first run on lower fuel – his best lap time a 1:32.361 on the Pirelli C3 tire, before a bodywork issue curtailed the overall run program. Despite the compromise, additional car balance stints and longer distance runs followed on the C1 and C2 rubber to wrap up the 19-year-old rookie’s program. Bearman logged 59 laps to take his pre-season total to 197 laps completed.

Ocon was back for the final afternoon and the Frenchman had a busy stint eventually taking the checkered flag 103 laps later to finish with 260 laps to his credit from testing. Highlights from the productive session included a qualifying sim on low fuel on the C4 compound, as well as a race distance run complete with full crew pit-stops as track time drew to a close early evening under the lights at the Sakhir circuit.

Ayao Komatsu – Team Principal:

“For the final day of testing, we had planned a short run and a race sim for each driver. Unfortunately, this morning we had an issue with the bodywork, so Ollie’s entire session essentially was compromised which was disappointing. That wasn’t very representative for Ollie’s final preparation. Esteban had a decent afternoon and completed most of the run plan. We’ve still got a bit of work to do but we’ve made decent progress, and for the first time today we looked at the car with a slightly lower fuel load. Overall, if I look back at testing, was it perfect – no, but apart from this morning I think we dealt with the conditions pretty well. It’s been cold, and it was raining yesterday, so it’s been tricky to get the best out of it, but apart from this morning – I think we did. It’s been a decent preparation and I’m looking forward to Australia.”

Ollie Bearman:

“It certainly wasn’t the morning the team and I were hoping for. We had an obvious issue with the car, which was unexpected, so we ran the car a bit differently to finish the morning which lost us a bit of performance. We still run a lot though, as every lap is important and that’s what testing’s all about so we’ll be fine for Australia. I’m excited to get there and get my season started. The car was feeling really good last night so I’m feeling confident and comfortable and we tried a few things that worked. It’s tough to say where we stand, we haven’t done much low-fuel running, but I think the car is performing well – I just don’t want to jinx anything!”

Esteban Ocon:

“It was a very busy afternoon, probably my busiest ever. We got a lot of long running in once again, and a few shorter runs which was good so I could get the feel of the car. There’s more performance to come, but it was very good to get into proper conditions, time with other cars on track, and a proper temperature. It’s been a very good test from my side, no issues really and we went through the plan smoothly. I definitely feel one more step ready to get to Australia.”