Lewis Hamilton set the pace on the final day of pre-season testing in Bahrain to underline his Mercedes team’s status as favorites for the season opener in Australia. Hamilton was just 0.06 seconds off the fastest time of the winter set by Williams’s Felipe Massa on Saturday.
Valtteri Bottas was second fastest, showing that Williams, who had a poor season last year, could cause an upset. Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso was third while Red Bull’s struggles continued, with Sebastian Vettel going off track at Turn 1 following “a mechanical issue at the front of the car”.
The four-time World Champion returned to the track in the afternoon, and racked up a total of 77 laps in the RB10, but at reduced pace. He ended up ninth ahead of McLaren’s Jenson Button.
