2021 Pre-Season Testing

The 2021 Pre-Season test (officially the Formula 1 Aramco Pre-Season Testing 2021) was the pre-season test ahead of the 2021 Formula One Season, staged at the Bahrain International Circuit between 12 to 14 March 2021. All ten entrants to the 2021 season took part.
==Background==
Pre-season testing for 2021 had originally been scheduled to take place at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya from March 2 to March 4. Following an updated season calendar released on January 12, which saw the Australian Grand Prix, originally scheduled to be on March 21 postponed to November 21 due to strict COVID-19 quarantine measures in Australia, all teams agreed to host pre-season testing at Bahrain from March 12 to 14Motorsport.com: F1 teams agree Bahrain March test dates, two weeks before the season-opener at the same place.
==Teams and Drivers==
===Entry List===
The full entry list for the is outlined below:
No. 	Driver 	Entrant 	Constructor 	Chassis 	Engine 	Model 	Tyre
3 	Daniel Ricciardo 	McLaren F1 Team 	 	MCL35M 	 	 	
4 	Lando Norris 	McLaren F1 Team 	 	MCL35M 	 	 	
5 	Sebastian Vettel 	Aston Martin Cognizant F1 Team 	 	AMR21 	 	 	
6 	Nicholas Latifi 	Williams Racing 	 	FW43B 	 	 	
7 	Kimi Räikkönen 	Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN 	 	C41 	 	 	
9 	Nikita Mazepin 	Uralkali Haas F1 Team 	 	VF-21 	 	 	
10 	Pierre Gasly 	Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda 	 	AT02 	 	 	
11 	Sergio Pérez 	Red Bull Racing 	 	RB16B 	 	 	
14 	Fernando Alonso 	Alpine F1 Team 	 	A521 	 	 	
16 	Charles Leclerc 	Scuderia Ferrari 	 	SF21 	 	 	
18 	Lance Stroll 	Aston Martin Cognizant F1 Team 	 	AMR21 	 	 	
22 	Yuki Tsunoda 	Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda 	 	AT02 	 	 	
31 	Esteban Ocon 	Alpine F1 Team 	 	A521 	 	 	
33 	Max Verstappen 	Red Bull Racing 	 	RB16B 	 	 	
44 	Lewis Hamilton 	Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team 	 	F1 W12 	 	 	
45 	Roy Nissany 	Williams Racing 	 	FW43B 	 	 	
47 	Mick Schumacher 	Uralkali Haas F1 Team 	 	VF-21 	 	 	
55 	Carlos Sainz, Jr. 	Scuderia Ferrari 	 	SF21 	 	 	
63 	George Russell 	Williams Racing 	 	FW43B 	 	 	
77 	Valtteri Bottas 	Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team 	 	F1 W12 	 	 	
99 	Antonio Giovinazzi 	Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN 	 	C41 	 	 	
Source:2021 F1 Pre-Season Testing - Bahrain (formula1.com)	Source:2021 F1 Pre-Season Testing - Bahrain (formula1.com)	Source:2021 F1 Pre-Season Testing - Bahrain (formula1.com)	Source:2021 F1 Pre-Season Testing - Bahrain (formula1.com)	Source:2021 F1 Pre-Season Testing - Bahrain (formula1.com)	Source:2021 F1 Pre-Season Testing - Bahrain (formula1.com)	Source:2021 F1 Pre-Season Testing - Bahrain (formula1.com)	Source:2021 F1 Pre-Season Testing - Bahrain (formula1.com)
===Driver Schedules===
Constructor 	Day 1 AM 	Day 1 PM 	Day 2 AM 	Day 2 PM 	Day 3 AM 	Day 3 PM
Alfa Romeo 	Räikkönen 	Giovinazzi	Giovinazzi	Giovinazzi	Räikkönen 	Räikkönen
AlphaTauri 	Gasly 	Tsunoda 	Tsunoda 	Gasly 	Gasly 	Tsunoda
Alpine 	Ocon 	Ocon 	Alonso 	Alonso 	Ocon 	Alonso
Aston Martin	Vettel 	Stroll 	Vettel 	Stroll 	Stroll 	Vettel
Ferrari 	Leclerc 	Sainz 	Sainz 	Leclerc 	Leclerc 	Sainz
Haas 	Schumacher	Mazepin 	Mazepin 	Schumacher	Schumacher	Mazepin
McLaren 	Ricciardo 	Norris 	Ricciardo 	Norris 	Norris 	Ricciardo
Mercedes 	Bottas 	Hamilton 	Hamilton 	Bottas 	Bottas 	Hamilton
Red Bull 	Verstappen	Verstappen	Pérez 	Pérez 	Pérez 	Verstappen
Williams 	Nissany 	Nissany 	Latifi 	Latifi 	Russell 	Russell
==Day-by-Day==
===Day One===
====Report====
Daniel Ricciardo was fastest on the morning session for the returning McLaren-Mercedes partnership, with Honda-powered cars, Pierre Gasly from AlphaTauri and Max Verstappen from Red Bull second and third respectively. Mercedes' Valtteri Bottas and Haas debutant Mick Schumacher did not run for most of the part due to transmission issues and had to be replaced. The session was red-flagged and ended with ten minutes remaining after Charles Leclerc developed an issue in his Ferrari.
The afternoon session began with a sandstorm, but Verstappen topped the overall timing sheets with a 1:30.674, with Ricciardo's team-mate Lando Norris second, and Alpine's Esteban Ocon in third, while defending champion Lewis Hamilton was 10th fastest.
====Results====
The full results from the first day of the are outlined below:
Pos. 	No. 	Driver 	Constructor	Laps 	Time 	Time 	Gap
Pos. 	No. 	Driver 	Constructor	Laps 	S1 	S2 	Gap
1 	33 	Max Verstappen 	 	138 	1:32.245	1:30.674	—
2 	4 	Lando Norris 	 	45 	— 	1:30.889	+0.215s
3 	31 	Esteban Ocon 	 	128 	1:32.959	1:31.146	+0.472s
4 	18 	Lance Stroll 	 	46 	— 	1:31.782	+1.108s
5 	55 	Carlos Sainz, Jr. 	 	56 	— 	1:31.919	+1.245s
6 	99 	Antonio Giovinazzi	 	68 	— 	1:31.945	+1.271s
7 	3 	Daniel Ricciardo 	 	45 	1:32.203	1:32.203	+1.529s
8 	10 	Pierre Gasly 	 	74 	1:32.231	1:32.231	+1.557s
9 	22 	Yuki Tsunoda 	 	37 	— 	1:32.727	+2.053s
10 	44 	Lewis Hamilton 	 	42 	— 	1:32.912	+2.238s
11 	16 	Charles Leclerc 	 	59 	1:33.242	1:33.242	+2.568s
12 	7 	Kimi Räikkönen 	 	63 	1:33.320	1:33.320	+2.646s
13 	5 	Sebastian Vettel 	 	51 	1:33.742	1:33.742	+3.068s
14 	45 	Roy Nissany 	 	83 	1:34.789	1:34.789	+4.115s
15 	9 	Nikita Mazepin 	 	69 	— 	1:34.798	+4.124s
16 	47 	Mick Schumacher 	 	15 	— 	1:36.127	+5.453s
17 	77 	Valtteri Bottas 	 	6 	1:36.850	1:36.850	+6.176s
Source:	Source:	Source: 	Source: 	Source:	Source: 	Source: 	Source:
*Bold indicates a driver's best time from the session.
* Indicates what tyre compound a driver set their fastest time on.
===Day Two===
====Report====
Ricciardo continued McLaren-Mercedes' strong form by once again setting the fastest time of the morning session, with the returning double champion Fernando Alonso a close second fastest for Alpine, and Sergio Perez third fastest on his debut in Red Bull. Hamilton managed eighth fastest, as a rare error from him sent him spinning and beaching his car in the gravel trap at Turn 13. Vettel was unable to run for the entire morning as his Aston Martin developed a transmission issue.
Bottas managed to turn Mercedes' fortunes around from the previous day for the afternoon session, setting the fastest time from everyone else on the C5 compound tire, ahead of Gasly, Lance Stroll, Norris and Antonio Giovinazzi, all of whom momentarily set fastest times on softer compound tires. There was a minor on-track incident that brought out the red flag, as Perez' engine cover was blown off while pulling out of the slipstream of the Williams of Nicholas Latifi.
====Results====
The full results from the second day of the are outlined below:
Pos. 	No. 	Driver 	Constructor	Laps 	Time* 	Time* 	Gap
Pos. 	No. 	Driver 	Constructor	Laps 	S1 	S2 	Gap
1 	77 	Valtteri Bottas 	 	58 	— 	1:30.289	—
2 	10 	Pierre Gasly 	 	87 	— 	1:30.413	+0.124s
3 	18 	Lance Stroll 	 	70 	— 	1:30.460	+0.171s
4 	4 	Lando Norris 	 	52 	— 	1:30.586	+0.297s
5 	99 	Antonio Giovinazzi	 	124 	1:36.018	1:30.760	+0.471s
6 	16 	Charles Leclerc 	 	73 	— 	1:30.886	+0.597s
7 	6 	Nicholas Latifi 	 	132 	1:32.541	1:31.672	+1.383s
8 	11 	Sergio Pérez 	 	117 	1:32.478	1:31.682	+1.393s
9 	3 	Daniel Ricciardo 	 	52 	1:32.315	1:32.315	+1.926s
10 	14 	Fernando Alonso 	 	127 	1:32.339	1:32.339	+2.050s
11 	22 	Yuki Tsunoda 	 	57 	1:32.684	1:32.684	+2.395s
12 	47 	Mick Schumacher 	 	88 	— 	1:32.883	+2.594s
13 	55 	Carlos Sainz, Jr. 	 	56 	1:33.072	1:33.072	+2.783s
14 	9 	Nikita Mazepin 	 	76 	1:33.101	1:33.101	+2.812s
15 	44 	Lewis Hamilton 	 	58 	1:33.399	1:33.399	+3.110s
16 	5 	Sebastian Vettel 	 	10 	1:38.849	1:38.849	+8.560s
Source:	Source:	Source: 	Source: 	Source:	Source: 	Source: 	Source:
===Day Three===
====Report====
Red Bull showed a strong form for the final day of testing, with Perez setting the fastest time for the morning session, while Verstappen set the fastest overall test time for the afternoon session, with Japanese AlphaTauri rookie Yuki Tsunoda a close second and Ferrari's Carlos Sainz Jr third fastest. Hamilton ended fifth fastest after gradually improving his runs, despite a spin at the last turn of the track in the session's final moments. Both Aston Martins finished at the bottom of the timing sheets, with Vettel sitting out from the remaining moments of the session due to a turbo issue.
The session was overshadowed by the death of former commentator Murray Walker on the evening after the second day of testing.
====Results====
The full results from the third day of the are outlined below:
Pos. 	No. 	Driver 	Constructor	Laps 	Time* 	Time* 	Gap
Pos. 	No. 	Driver 	Constructor	Laps 	S1 	S2 	Gap
1 	33 	Max Verstappen 	 	64 	— 	1:28.960	—
2 	22 	Yuki Tsunoda 	 	91 	— 	1:29.053	+0.093s
3 	55 	Carlos Sainz, Jr.	 	79 	— 	1:29.611	+0.651s
4 	7 	Kimi Räikkönen 	 	165 	1:35.274	1:29.766	+0.806s
5 	44 	Lewis Hamilton 	 	54 	— 	1:30.025	+1.065s
6 	63 	George Russell 	 	157 	1:32.731	1:30.117	+1.157s
7 	3 	Daniel Ricciardo 	 	75 	— 	1:30.144	+1.184s
8 	11 	Sergio Pérez 	 	49 	1:30.187	1:30.187	+1.227s
9 	14 	Fernando Alonso 	 	77 	— 	1:30.318	+1.358s
10 	16 	Charles Leclerc 	 	80 	1:30.486	1:30.486	+1.526s
11 	4 	Lando Norris 	 	56 	1:30.661	1:30.661	+1.701s
12 	10 	Pierre Gasly 	 	76 	1:30.828	1:30.828	+1.868s
13 	31 	Esteban Ocon 	 	61 	1:31.310	1:31.310	+2.350s
14 	9 	Nikita Mazepin 	 	67 	— 	1:31.531	+2.571s
15 	47 	Mick Schumacher 	 	78 	1:32.053	1:32.053	+3.093s
16 	77 	Valtteri Bottas 	 	86 	1:32.406	1:32.406	+3.446s
17 	5 	Sebastian Vettel 	 	56 	— 	1:35.041	+6.081s
18 	18 	Lance Stroll 	 	80 	1:36.100	1:36.100	+7.140s
Source:	Source:	Source: 	Source: 	Source:	Source: 	Source: 	Source:
==Overall times==
==References==
==External links==
Category:Pre-season testing
Category:2021 Formula One Season