Carlos Sainz Jr. concluded his first official pre-season test for Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow, by setting the third fastest time of the day in the SF21 at the Bahrain International Circuit.
The Spaniard joined the afternoon session, putting in a best time of 1:29.611s, during a race simulation. Towards the end of the session Sainz had an altercation with the Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN of Kimi Raikkonen going into Turn 10 as both drivers scampered for the racing line.
Carlos’ teammate Charles Leclerc completed the third day of testing with 80 laps during the morning session, which the team practiced a race simulation with pit stops and tyre changes. Leclerc set a time of 1:30.486s on the C3 tyre.
With the third fastest lap time in mind, Team Principal Mattia Binotto is pleased with how the three day test went for the team, but he remained coy on how this places the team as the 2021 is set to get underway in two weeks time.
“These were three very busy days of testing. One of our priorities was to make the most of the short time available to gain an understanding of the behaviour of the SF21 and we succeeded in doing that,” said Binotto. “I feel we have improved in many areas compared to last season. It’s hard to say where we are compared to our opponents, because this test was even harder than usual to interpret.
“For our part, we have to carefully analyse all the data to be as well prepared as possible for the start of the championship. There’s a lot to do, but we all really want to do well.”
The team now head back to Maranello with all the important data ready to start the season in two weeks time when the teams head back to Sakhir for the Bahrain Grand Prix.
