Sergio Perez Pips Lewis Hamilton as F1 Testing Wraps up in Bahrain

Sergio Perez topped the timesheets for Red Bull from Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes as pre-season testing wrapped up in Sakhir on Saturday.

Perez has emerged as an important cog in teammate Max Verstappen’s world championship success over the previous two seasons.

And after three days making an attempt out their 2023 automobiles in the desert all of the indicators are that Red Bull can be arduous to disclaim subsequent Sunday in the Bahrain Grand Prix, the primary of a report 23-race season.

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“Red Bull appear to be very sturdy in these three days,” said Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc after Verstappen had been quickest on the first day of testing on Thursday.

“I feel we have some work to do,” added Leclerc, who can be hoping new Ferrari chief Frederic Vasseur can convey a change of fortune for the Scuderia on raceday after Ferrari’s title problem final time period was undone by a mixture of poor technique and reliability.

“The automotive is working rather well,” said Verstappen, who is targeting a third straight title after defending his controversially gained 2021 crown four races from the end of last season with a record 15 wins.

Testing concluded with Perez 0.359seconds up on Hamilton as Verstappen sat out the final day.

Valtteri Bottas’s Alfa Romeo occupied third from Leclerc and Carlos Sainz in the second Ferrari, with Japan’s Yuki Tsunoda (Alpha Tauri) sixth.

Further down the times in an Aston Martin came Felipe Drugovich, who has stood in for Lance Stroll, missing after a cycling accident.

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Drugovich, 22 and born in Brazil, won last season’s Formula 2 title and is on standby to substitute for Stroll should the Canadian son of team owner Lawrence Stroll be unfit for next weekend’s race.

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(This story has not been edited by News18 employees and is printed from a syndicated information company feed)