Sebastian Vettel left the pre-season test in Bahrain with the slowest lap time of all 20 race drivers that run in the desert island, as well as with the lowest number of laps achieved by those that will be taking part in the 2021 Formula One World Championship. A new experience for the four-times World Champion, who managed only 177 laps in the course of his thee half days of running, with a best time of 1m33,742s, almost four seconds off Max Verstappen's pace setting time.
Alpine's executive director Marcin Budkowski has defended the emergence of a notably 'plump' area of the 2021 car's engine cover just behind the airbox.