The sense that McLaren were a step ahead of their rivals at Bahrain’s Sakhir track was founded on some eye-catching pace on race-simulation runs.
These are always the most reliable indicators of true competitiveness in testing because a key variable is removed. Teams do a full grand prix distance so the level of fuel is known, even if other settings, such as engine modes, may still not be comparable from car to car.
On the afternoon of the second day of testing, McLaren’s Lando Norris did a race-simulation run at the same time as Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Mercedes’ Andrea Kimi Antonelli. The Briton’s pace was breathtaking.
He would have won the ‘race’ by more than 30 seconds, and was on average more than 0.5secs a lap quicker than his rivals.
Leclerc would have finished about two seconds ahead of Antonelli.
On the final afternoon, Norris’ team-mate Oscar Piastri and Mercedes’ George Russell were out at the same time doing the same thing.
Again, the McLaren was faster, although not by as much. Piastri was an average of 0.2secs a lap quicker than Russell. That would mean winning by just over 10 seconds.
However, Piastri’s advantage was nearly all gained in the first stint, in which he was 0.5secs quicker than Russell. In the second and third stints, the McLaren’s advantage was just 0.05secs.
It’s pointless comparing the times of Norris, Leclerc and Antonelli with those of Piastri, Russell from one day to the next, because Thursday was cooler and less windy than Friday.
F1 cars are faster in cooler conditions because the higher air density increases both downforce and engine performance, and wind is bad news for the cars’ sensitive aerodynamics.
Over one lap, the McLaren’s pace was less outstanding – but then it’s harder to tell that in testing. For what it’s worth, McLaren seem pretty level-pegging over a single lap with Ferrari, a Verstappen-driven Red Bull and Mercedes.
McLaren were keen to play down any claims that they were ahead.
Team principal Andrea Stella said he “would be very careful” about drawing conclusions from Norris’ run, suggesting the usually cool conditions in Bahrain “were in a sweet spot for our car – they were conditions our car enjoys, cool, not much wind”.
Stella’s point is that the conditions perhaps masked some of the weaknesses McLaren have had in Bahrain in recent years – the track’s combination of mainly slow corners and traction-dominated layout do not play to the car’s strengths, especially in the heat that is normally typical in the desert.
But there is another way of looking at that. If McLaren can be this quick on a circuit that does not suit their car, just how good could they be at Melbourne, which on paper is much more their kind of track?
The McLaren excels in the sort of medium-speed corners and low-grip surface that are typical at Albert Park, where front-end performance is the main limitation for an F1 car, not rear as in Bahrain.
Norris, sitting in a news conference with Verstappen and Leclerc, said: “If we want to improve anything at the moment, it’s the rear, but the rest of it feels correct and feels in the same ball park.
“I don’t think we are expecting to be a big step ahead of everyone. We are expecting to be close to the guys to my right. If we are there from the off, that’s the main thing.”
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