Pre-season testing came to an end with Mercedes rebounding from Thursday’s engine problems and Renault turning heads.
MONTMELO, Spain—February 28th—Mercedes’ Valterri Bottas rounded out this season’s testing schedule by topping the charts on Friday with a time of 1:16:196. Bottas completed 79 laps at the Circuit de Catalunya.
Max Verstappen, who was quiet all morning and most of the afternoon, surged at the very last minute to put his Red Bull as second-best on the day–only 0.073 seconds behind the Finn.
But perhaps the most impressive performance of the two-week testing period belonged to Renault. On Friday, Daniel Ricciardo took third with the best time in the morning until both Bottas and Verstappen passed him later in the day. Esteban Ocon competed, too, finishing in sixth.
Both Red Bull cars–of Verstappen and Alex Albon–focused more on endurance Friday than on speed. They finished 14th and last, respectively, but also drove regular Grand Prix distances. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who took fourth, did the same.
The other Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton was fifth in an uneventful day, unlike the problems he had on Thursday with engine problems.
Kimi Raikkonen was 12th in his Alfa Romeo, while both American Haas F1 drivers–Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen, who both drove on this final day–finished 11th and 13th, respectively.
With pre-season testing now complete, teams will make final adjustments in preparation for the season-opening race at the Albert Park Circuit in Melbourne. The weekend begins with practice runs on Friday, March 13.
