In a week’s time, all 20 drivers will have to put their cards on the table in the first World Cup training session at the same location. Also Zhou and Bottas in the C43 from the Zurich Oberland.
How does new Sauber director Andreas Seidl (47) rate Blick’s performance so far? “Sturdy!” Can you leave it that way for the second half of the test?
Williams wanted to be on top!
After two in the morning, China’s Guanyu Zhou (23) caused people to sit up – he moved up to second in the ranking behind Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz. Then the other Spaniard, Alonso, replaced the Alfa-Sauber driver – as did GP newcomer Logan Sargeant (22, USA) in the Williams-Mercedes shortly before the lunch break.
The World Cup rear light speaks for itself! With the softest Pirelli rubber (C5)! The big teams don’t put them on until the test final on Saturday.
Yes, the fifth in the Formula 2 championship from Florida even tried to displace Sainz’s Ferrari at the end, but Sargeant missed by 0.180 seconds!
These “pauses” hurt
Apparently a gearbox issue kept Zhou in the pits for over 45 minutes after his great time – with no tire or fuel advantage. He didn’t return until 35 minutes before the lunch hour.
Such unforeseen “pauses” have always been the big problem for the Swiss in recent test winters. Time and again precious time was lost due to too many teething problems.
Broken wrist?
The big question in Bahrain: how badly is Lance Stroll (24) injured? Was he disabled for a long time due to his cycling accident in Spain? Why the team is silent about a possible wrist fracture is a mystery.
Well, the replacement is ready in Formula 2 champion Felipe Drugovich (22, Bra). His first laps on Thursday were fine. Aston-Martin-Mercedes is all about two-time world champion Fernando Alonso (41).
Red Bull as on rails
The Spaniard really wanted to win the day on the first day with soft rubber and little fuel, but failed by 0.029 seconds on world champion Max Verstappen (25) in the Red Bull Honda. His RB19 is the only car that races through the many corners like on rails.
The competition just shakes their heads in awe. As a reminder: the Dutchman won 15 times last year – a record!
Drugo drives – Schumi learns
Because Alonso does not have to share his car on the second day (like Zhou at Alfa-Sauber and Sargeant at Williams-Mercedes), Drugovich is on duty at the pit wall. He has to handle the processes because he might be in the green cockpit for weeks.
Replacement driver Mick Schumacher (23) was of course very welcome at Mercedes. The German has a great marketing effect for the noble team. You see the previous Haas driver in Bahrain constantly at the side of team boss and co-owner Toto Wolff (51). On Wednesday, the duo even watched the cars on the track together.
The noise about Schumi continues
The seemingly never-ending noise from Schumi’s surroundings with the Haas team (and especially boss Günther Steiner) continues to meander through the paddock. Every word picked up somewhere (now Netflix) is used by the German media and the TV station to attack the US team again.
But slowly one has to take care of Schumi’s successor and compatriot Nico Hulkenberg (35). However, after a three-year break, many do not believe that. You could be wrong.
Source : Blick
I’m Emma Jack, a news website author at 24 News Reporters. I have been in the industry for over five years and it has been an incredible journey so far. I specialize in sports reporting and am highly knowledgeable about the latest trends and developments in this field.
