The Milton Keynes squad barely flexed its muscles throughout the three days of running in Bahrain with suggestions the RB20 is as much as a second clear of the chasing pack.
That charge is headed by Ferrari, which had a trouble-free test and ended both Thursday and Friday fastest.
The common consensus is the SF-24 is a good car, a step forward on last year’s temperamental machine, and less susceptible to the wind (though this generation of cars is inherently wind-affected).
Carlos Sainz was fastest on Thursday, on a set of the C4 rubber, while Charles Leclerc topped Friday, though with a time slower than his team-mate had managed a day prior.
That was despite conditions being arguably better, the opening two days having been plagued by a blustery wind that unsettled all cars.
Mercedes continued to run its car low to the ground and saw it spark heavily throughout the test.
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Lewis Hamilton and George Russell are saying positive things about the car but are stopping short of screaming its name from the rooftops.
The W15 has improved on some aspects of last year’s machine, but it’s no match for the RB20. Not that there is a match for it.
The Red Bull changes direction well, it rotates through slow speed well, and its drivers can apply large amounts of throttle far earlier than their rivals.
It is incrementally better than its rivals in almost every department and that translates to lap time. It even rides the bumps well, settling quickly to offer a stable aerodynamic platform.
The same can’t be said for the likes of Alpine, Mercedes or McLaren., which appear harsher across the bumps and take longer for the front axle to calm down.
That was especially obvious from trackside at Turn 9, the highspeed left-hander that feeds immediately into Turn 10 midway around the lap in Bahrain.
On approach to Turn 8, in the downhill braking zone, another such bump saw the Alpine the most affected with the front axle more unsettled than others.
The differences between all cars are subtle but discernible – which makes sense in an era of highly prescriptive regulations. There is no bad car, per se.
Zhou Guanyu was third fastest for Sauber in a car that is visibly the least settled.
It routinely snapped on Zhou and Valtteri Bottas mid-corner and protested on the throttle vociferously, a combination that seems counterproductive to tyre management and driver confidence.
But while it was unruly and a handful, it still managed to ride the bumps and change direction well. High-speed handling may prove a weakness, so too the mechanical grip across the rear axle, but it won’t see the Swiss squad nailed to the back row necessarily.
Even the Haas appeared to enjoy a solid platform. The American team was one of only three to log more than 2000km of running, so can chalk the Bahrain test up as a success.
How that translates in a week’s time remains to be seen – the weakness for Haas a year ago was tyre degradation and was a focus when the squad was developing the VF-24.
Naturally, the eight-second field spread seen on the final day is not representative. While it would not come as a surprise to see Valtteri Bottas towards the bottom once the season starts, the car is not three seconds off the pace.
The differences are slight; ride quality, rear-end stability, and rotation. It makes establishing a pecking order difficult, with the exception of Red Bull Racing at the very front.
Ferrari looks next best, with little to split Mercedes, McLaren, and Aston Martin. From there, it’s anyone’s guess.
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