All Drivers comments after first day of testing in the desert

Mar.12 - From today result talks and bullshit walks. Every team had to send out their new cars out on the Sakhir track to show the world what they improved on their new championship contender and if they did their homework the right way.

For Red Bull Racing the first day of testing started off like dream. The RB16B held up greatly while nature even send in sandstorms to stop the bull from running. Max Verstappen drove over 750 km today and also was quickest by more than 0.4s on the C3 tyre. Lap times don't say much, because all engines are turned down to get more mileage out of them.

Title winners of the last 7 seasons, Mercedes had one of the worst first testing days in their history. The new W12 could only do 48 laps because of a gear shift problem in the morning. Strangely the otherwise bulletproof Mercedes team was the only one who did not do a film day shakedown before testing and that cost them dearly today.

The floor of the secret W12 floor of the car was also shown for the first time today. It shows new wobbly figures on it to compensate the loss of downforce by the smaller size.

We have summed-up the drivers comments in random order for you.

Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport

Valtteri Bottas - 6 laps

Valtteri Bottas

"The whole team was looking forward to getting on track but on the install lap we noticed an issue with the gearbox so we had to localise the problem and change the gearbox which takes quite a bit of time. Only at the end of the morning session could we get back out for a few more laps before the red flag. A total of six laps for me, all with aero rakes on the car so not much running today and not an ideal start.

In recent years things have been pretty much bulletproof so it’s not a familiar experience. The good thing is that this year if you miss some running you can hopefully catch up because of the mileage limitation linked to the cost cap efficiencies. I am confident we can recover and I’m looking forward to two good days over the weekend."

Lewis Hamilton -42 laps

Lewis Hamilton

"Today definitely wasn’t the cleanest of days that we’ve had but these things are sent to try us. Everyone has worked extremely hard to get us here. We had that mishap in the morning which was very unfortunate for Valtteri in terms of losing time on track and the team is working hard to try and understand what that was. I think they did a great job to turn the car around. The second session wasn’t without its challenges, but we exist to find solutions to the problems we’re faced with. We just had a good debrief and we’ll keep working away.

I’ve never seen a sandstorm come through here before in all the years that I’ve driven at this circuit. The sand was moving like rain would move. Having sand on the tyres isn’t good for their longevity and getting consistency on long runs is difficult. Over a single lap it isn’t the worst, but you need lots of laps at this time of year to get data.

We have no choice but to take the positives. I remember in 2007 during testing I had 10 days in the car and now it’s getting less and less. We only have a day and a half in the car before the first race, with different tyres and different aero modifications so it’s not easy but it’s the same for everyone. I’d like to think my nine years’ experience with this team will help me get the best out of it."

Scuderia Ferrari

Carlos Sainz - 57 laps

Carlos Sainz jr.

"In general I think today was a positive first day of testing, where the target was to complete our whole run programme and we did it, so happy with that. I guess everyone wants to figure out the performance of each car after today, but I think it is way too early to tell, and very difficult to know in these kind of conditions – full of sand, very windy and with big variations in temperatures. All in all I think we can consider today a very good day. Thanks to everyone at the track and back at the factory. We keep working!"

Charles Leclerc - 59 laps

Charles Leclerc

"The first day in a new car is always very interesting, after all the work carried out over the winter. We completed the whole programme without any major problems and the first impression of the car is pretty good. But obviously, it’s far too early to give a full assessment. Now I can’t wait to get behind the wheel again tomorrow!"

Aston Martin Red Bull Racing

Max Verstappen - 139 laps

Max Verstappen

"We aimed for this number of laps and when you can complete a full programme like this the Team can also be pleased with the information we have. We don’t need to talk about pace yet and it isn’t really a discussion until we get to Q3 at the first race weekend - it’s only then you see the real pace in all the cars. The main thing is that the car felt nice to drive, so it’s a positive start.”

Sergio Pérez - Perez didn't driver today

Aston Martin Racing

Sebastian Vettel - 51 laps

Sebastian Vettel

“It was a very productive morning and really the first opportunity we've had to truly put the AMR21 through its paces. As I expected, there's a lot of new things to learn.

"I'm working with a different power unit compared to the past, which means there are lots of different procedures involved, and then there are other things to get used to such as how different the handling is. Then there's a new steering wheel with all its buttons, different braking too - so I'm very aware that there's a lot to learn.

"The important thing is that I know where I need to improve. It was tricky on track because it was so windy out there, you could see that everyone out there was fighting a bit for grip.

"Today wasn't about lap times, it was about finding a good balance in the car and getting a true read on it while collecting lots of important data, which we managed by running 51 laps in the morning session.

"I'm looking forward to going over the data tonight and continuing to make progress with the car. I think we can say it was a good first day for the AMR21.”

Lance Stroll - 46 laps

Lance Stroll

“It was a good start to testing today, I was happy with the balance of the car. It was really tricky out there and you could feel the effect of the wind on the run down to Turn 1 and you could feel the tailwind at certain corners too.

"I don’t think anybody found it easy out there. It’s early days to be making judgements on the car and we have to remember that this year there’s a cut in downforce, which you can feel in the car, and there are new tyres too. The important thing is that we made an encouraging start and it felt good to drive the AMR21.

"We spent the majority of today doing aero mapping and collecting plenty of useful data. It’s great to be back in the car and really feeling the energy of the team.

"It’s a new beginning as Aston Martin, we’re all really excited to get the season going and I’m enjoying working with Sebastian and getting to know how he operates.

"All in all, it’s been a productive session and I definitely enjoyed my day in the AMR21!”

AlphaTauri

Pierre Gasly - 74 laps

Pierre Gasly

“Everything felt really good with the car this morning, we had a positive start to testing and were able to do a lot of laps – our main goal for today. Running for just three days, it’s important that we make the most of this time on track. We managed to complete our full testing programme for the first day and I felt very comfortable in the car.

Of course, there are areas that we need to work on and improve but that’s to be expected on the first day. The conditions today are quite tough to drive in – F1 cars don’t perform well with this level of wind – which isn’t great but it’s good to understand how the car works in these situations, especially as the first race of the season will be at this circuit.”

Yuki Tsunoda - 37 laps

Yuki Tsunoda

“It was great to experience the new car properly for the afternoon session and to complete my first official Formula 1 pre-season test as a Scuderia AlphaTauri driver. Obviously, at this stage mileage and data collection is key for me – as a rookie I want to gain the most out of the only three-days of testing available and learn a lot ahead of the first race here in Bahrain. It’s been quite a difficult afternoon session unfortunately.

The weather has been bad, with the sand and wind making the conditions tricky to drive in, and then the team discovered an issue with the fuel system in my car. This meant that I had to box ahead of the end of the session – they’re investigating it now though and I’ll be ready to head back out on track when the lights turn green for the morning session tomorrow.”

McLaren F1 Team

Lando Norris - 46 laps

Lando Norris

“First of all, very happy to be back in a Formula 1 car. It’s my first time putting the MCL35M to the test in the dry. It’s quite a shock to feel the speed of a Formula 1 car again, it’s been a while since I’ve had that sensation. It was a good shock and it felt nice to be back, but not as nice with the conditions today. The second half of the day was very dusty and windy which made it tricky, so it wasn’t the easiest first day back in the car.

“We spent the session going through our test programme, making sure there are no problems with the seat and that I’m comfortable in the car. We’ve got some things to work on from that side over the next couple of days. We’ll sit down and review everything this evening, but it’s been a solid first day. Thanks to everyone both here and back at the factory for all the hard work and making it such a smooth first day's running.”

Daniel Ricciardo - 45 laps

Daniel Ricciardo

“It was really good to get back out in the car for my first proper session with McLaren. I was able to push the car a little bit and get more familiar with it. It was a smooth morning, everything ran well and that’s all you can ask in testing – you want reliability on your side and the team back in Woking has done an awesome job of giving us a great start on day one.

We got a good amount of runs and laps done, with a focus on getting more and more familiar and comfortable in the car. The plan for the next few days is similar, we’re aiming to leave here feeling ready to go for the Bahrain Grand Prix. Happy days!”

Alfa Romeo Racing

Kimi Räikkönen - 64 laps

Kimi Raikkonen

“First day in the car for me, so it was positive to run without any issue. It was quite windy and the conditions would change from corner to corner, which made it a bit tricky, but it was the same conditions for everyone so it didn’t really make a difference. As far as our programme went, it was a typical testing day: we tried different things, made sure everything went as planned and ticked all the boxes on our list. It’s pointless to make guesses about where we stand right now, we will have to wait for the first race, but our aim is of course to move further up the grid compared to last year.”

Antonio Giovinazzi - 69 laps

Antonio Giovinazzi

“I think we did a good job, despite the difficult conditions. I am happy with the car and the work the team did, taking into account it was just my first day this year. We need to keep working like this for these remaining days, of course, but we have a solid base to build on. After three months outside of the car, coming back behind the steering wheel is always tough, but we were helped by having a smooth day without any issue. I am hoping for another busy day like today when I am back in the car tomorrow.”

Alpine F1 Team

Esteban Ocon - 129 laps

Esteban Ocon

“Everything went well today, and it was definitely a good first day back at school! It was a solid one for the team, we completed the programme with ease and we even had time at the end of the day to do pit-stop practice with the team, which was quite nice as it meant we could get ourselves back into race situations.

We put in some decent laps today and we learned everything we set out to achieve and that’s exactly what you need during test days. We faced all kinds of conditions as well: heat this morning then strong gusts and a sandstorm this afternoon, so pretty much everything except rain. That was interesting but we did what we needed to, and I look forward to driving the car again later this weekend.”

Fernando Alonso - didn't drive today

Fernando Alonso

Haas F1 Team

Mick Schumacher - 15 laps

Mick Schumacher

“Obviously it wasn’t the best qualifying for us – just not really fast enough today. It wasn’t a perfect Q2 either. I was overtaken just before the last corner to start the lap, so I was right behind the Renault and in its dirty air, I locked up unfortunately. I didn’t get a last go at setting a time. I needed a lot of lap time from that lap, but I don’t think it was really there.

It’s slightly disappointing, but hopefully, well – the first two races we’ve been good in qualifying, then not so good in the races, hopefully it’s the other way around this weekend.”

Nikita Mazepin -  70 laps

Nikita Mazepin

“It’s been an amazing day to be honest. I was very fortunate to have a smooth afternoon. As we’ve seen with the first day of running, things don’t always go the way you planned – but it was important to get laps under our belt. It was also a very nice feeling to try the car for real after so much hypothetical build-up, and also what you plan to do can be very different in real life.

The conditions have been rather challenging because of the amount of sand and wind that we’ve had. I’ve been to Bahrain a lot and never seen this much sand, it was challenging, but in this sport you don’t get to choose. All these factors have made for an interesting day and a very good learning day. I was also very happy with the physical side of things. Obviously, the graduation from F2 to F1 is rather big, but for a first day I’m very satisfied.”

Williams Racing

Roy Nissany - 83 laps

Roy NIssany

I think it was a strong first day even with the poor conditions where we experienced a lot of sand and dust in the air. We got the most out of the car and I am happy with my performance, and I think the engineers were as well. We collected all of the data that we wanted and tested a lot of items so it has definitely been a very productive day, a lot of fun and a great opening to the season.

✅ Check out Photos day one of 2021 Bahrain testing
✅ Check out Results after first day of 2021 testing

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