What to expect from the Official Pre-Season Test in Bahrain

The start of the 2022 Formula One World Championship is drawing ever closer and the excitement levels are certainly rising as we head to Bahrain for the Official Pre-Season Test.

Three days of running around the Bahrain International Circuit gives teams one final chance to ready their machines for lights out the following week, so expect plenty of action throughout the pit lane.

After putting in 347 laps of running two weeks ago at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya during the pre-season track session, the Williams Racing team got plenty of valuable data which has since been evaluated back at Grove.

It’s this data that will be used as we shift from focusing on reliability in Spain to performance in Bahrain.

The 5.412km layout provides a strong mix of straights plus high, medium and low-speed corners, ideal for testing an array of setups to discover the best strategy.

And with Bahrain hosting the first Grand Prix just one week later, this test provides teams with a chance to get accurate data that can be carried over into the race.

We will also get to see the FW44 take to the track at night for the first time this season, with the afternoon sessions running until 19:00 local time.

Here’s how we will shape up in Bahrain:

Thursday: AA23

Friday: NL6

Saturday AM: NL6

Saturday PM: AA23

Before heading out to Bahrain, we caught up with our Head of Vehicle Performance, Dave Robson, who said: “The main objective of the test this week is to build on the learning from the track session in Barcelona and to start to increase the performance of the car.

“We got a useful preview of the FW44 in Barcelona and although the cars were only back in Grove for a few days before being transported to Bahrain, we were able to do quite a lot of work on them, which should help us to exploit the best performance this week.

“Conditions in Bahrain will be more demanding than they were in Spain, with the hotter track temperatures affecting the tyre performance and the stronger wind gusts challenging the aero characteristics much harder.

“This will be an excellent opportunity to test the car in a different environment and to use the data we gather to predict how the car will perform throughout the season ahead.

“We were reasonably happy with our work in Barcelona, but we are looking to do even better this week as we seek to push the performance of the FW44 forwards as well as ensuring that the car is fully race ready for the season ahead.”

After a positive few days in Barcelona, Nicholas Latifi is looking forward to getting behind the wheel of the FW44 again, saying: “I’m super excited to get to Bahrain for testing.

“After sampling the FW44 in Barcelona, I’m curious to see it on a track that is going to have more representative conditions.

“It’ll be a good opportunity to see what we can do and build upon the progress and learnings that we currently have.

“The additional running will also be much more relevant for the team as we’re racing there a week later, so I’m really looking forward to it.”

As for Alex Albon, the Official Pre-Season Test provides another opportunity to integrate himself in the car and in the garage ahead of the season opener, with the Thai driver adding: “After a strong few days in Barcelona, the focus now turns to the pre-season test in Bahrain.

“It’s a very different track with incredibly different temperatures, so it will be interesting to see how the FW44 performs, and we’ll have a lot to learn ahead of the first race.

“Our main goals will be to fine tune the set-up of the car and work on maximising performance; I’m looking forward to it!”

Unlike the pre-season track session in Barcelona, testing in Bahrain will be broadcast in its entirety.

Similarly, live timing will also be published so fans will be able to stay right up to date with all the action.

There will also be fans in attendance at the Bahrain International Circuit, so if you’re a Williams fan who is heading to the track, we look forward to seeing you there!

As with the Barcelona running, we’ll be keeping you up to date across all of our digital channels throughout the three days of running.

Stay tuned to both our website and our socials to see how Nicky and Alex progress as the clock ticks down to the first race of the year.