Sakhir:
China’s Zhou Guanyu won where many others failed on Friday by winning the Formula 1 world championship. Max Verstappen and admitted “it’s nice to see my name up there”.
Zhou set a best time of 1min 31.610sec from 132 laps in his Alfa Romeo on the second day of pre-season testing on the same track that Sakhir will be doing The 2023 championship opens on March 5.
“We know very well that this is a test, of course, and everyone is trying in different ways, but it’s nice to see my name and the team up there on time,” said a Zhou is 23 years old.
“It was a great day overall, we got a lot of miles in and met all the goals and tasks we set for ourselves, so I can say that I’m happy.
“The car felt great, both day and night, and I felt more confident pushing it as the day went on.”
Zhou he scored 18 in the 2022 championship, his first season in the game, scoring six points in total.
The team of former Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas was 10th with 49 points.
“Today is the last day of pre-season testing for me, and I’m really looking forward to the start of the season next week.” . Zhou added.
Red Bull driver Verstappen, who was fastest on Thursday, was second behind Zhou in 1min 31.650sec from a meager 47 laps and the two-time champion’s brother world Fernando Alonso third in the Aston Martin with the best of 1min 32.205sec.
Rookie Nyck De Vries of AlphaTauri was fourth.
In 2022, Verstappen won 15 of 22 races, including nine of the last 11 as he swept the world championships.
His final points total of 454 was a good 146 ahead of second place Charles Leclerc of Ferrari.
“Every time I get in the car today, I feel warm,” said the Dutch star who will seek a third consecutive title in 2023.
“We’ll see how fast next week goes, but I’m feeling good.”
Carlos Sainz was the best of the Ferrari duo on Friday, coming home sixth while Leclerc was eighth.
George Russell’s Mercedes and seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton they dropped to 13th and 15th and their progress was hampered by hydraulic failure.
“It was a tough morning,” Hamilton admitted. “The hot weather made it difficult to heat the tires, as we often see here in Bahrain.”
Time:
1. Zhou Guanyu (CHN/Alfa Romeo) 1:31.610 (132 laps), 2. Max Verstappen (NED/Red Bull) 1:31.650 (47), 3. Fernando Alonso (ESP/Aston Martin) 1:32.205 (130 ) ), 4. Nyck De Vries (NED/AlphaTauri) 1:32.222 (74), 5. Nico Hulkenberg (GER/Haas) 1:32.466 (68), 6. Carlos Sainz (ESP/Ferrari) 1:32.486 (70 ), 7. Logan Sargeant (USA/Williams) 1:32.549 (154), 8. Charles Leclerc (MON/Ferrari) 1:32.725 (68), 9. Oscar Piastri (AUS/McLaren) 1:33.175 (74), 10 Pierre Gasly (FRA/Alpine) 1:33.186 (59), 11. Kevin Magnussen (DEN/Haas) 1:33.442 (67), 12. Esteban Ocon (FRA/Alpine) 1:33.490 (49), 13. George Russell (GBR/Mercedes) 1:33.654 (26), 14. Sergio Pérez (MEX/Red Bull) 1:33.751 (76), 15. Lewis Hamilton (GBR/Mercedes) 1:33.954 (72), 16. Lando Norris (GBR/McLaren) 1:35.522 (65), 17. Yuki Tsunoda (JPN/AlphaTauri) 1:35.708 (85)
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