F1 champ Verstappen tops last day of testing, Hamilton slow

Manama, Mar.12 (BNA): As world champion Max Verstappen dazzled under the floodlights for Red Bull, easily topping the charts on the last day of Formula One preseason testing Saturday, title rival Lewis Hamilton was not optimistic about how Mercedes will fare when the season starts next weekend. Hamilton missed out on a record eighth F1 title on the last lap of the last race last year and is looking to grab his crown back from Verstappen, reports AP. Although it’s only testing, which can be misleading because teams sometimes have something in reserve, the task could prove harder than envisaged for the British veteran with a record 103 race wins. Verstappen looked to be in that sleek pole position mode — he led F1 with 10 poles last year — beating his own leading time near the end, and going so fast at one point he even did a 360 spin. Running with the RB18′s upgraded sidepods and floor that clearly worked, Verstappen clocked a leading time of 1 minute, 31.720 seconds, the fastest across the three days of testing in Bahrain. He was .7 seconds ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc as the session ended under floodlights, and in conditions similar to next Sunday’s opening race on the same Sakhir circuit. “We can’t read too much into the timing,” Verstappen said. “The new parts we tested today worked well, which is what we always hope for.” Two-time F1 champion Fernando Alonso pushed his Alpine up to third right at the end, sending Hamilton’s teammate George Russell down to fourth. They were both around a second slower than Verstappen, who won 10 races last year to Hamilton’s eight. Hamilton was 4.5 seconds behind Verstappen in 17th spot, although when he drove earlier in the day the conditions were less suitable than in the afternoon and evening. Hamilton was only ninth best in the morning run, which was topped by Verstappen’s trusty teammate Sergio Perez.