The chequered flag waved at the Bahrain International Circuit, signalling the end of winter testing for the 2014 Formula 1 season.
Teams were hoping for a smooth and trouble-free final day but it was far from it, with eight red flags interrupting running - although the on-track action was extended by 25 minutes.
Sunday's session was the last chance for teams to test their 2014 machines before the 2014 season opener in Australia, which takes place in just two weeks' time.
Some expect half of the field to retire during the 58-lap race and that prediction is looking even more likely following the 12th and final day of testing. A number of teams were forced to stop their running early due to reliability woes, including Caterham and Force India.
It was a rather busy and uninterrupted start to the session before Sebastian Vettel brought out the first red flag. The German suffered a brake failure at turn one but the RB10 was repaired in time for some running in the afternoon.
Romain Grosjean's Lotus E22 caused two of the eight red flag periods, with Button, Alonso, Gutierrez, Hulkenberg and Bottas (which was, incredibly, the FW36's first on-track breakdown) all temporarily stopping the session as well.
The final day of testing ended under the recently installed floodlights thanks to the session being extended by 25 minutes, giving teams a little bit more track time and a chance to sample similar conditions to the ones that they will compete in at the Bahrain Grand Prix in April, which will become a day-night race for the first time.
Lewis Hamilton set the fastest time of the day, a 1m33.278, and completed 70 laps at the wheel of the Mercedes W05. His morning session was heavily delayed thanks to a gearbox problem, which cost the team crucial testing time. However, the Brit recovered well and improved his best time late in the day.
Valtteri Bottas led the morning session and managed the most laps of the day - 108. However, he slipped down to second by the chequered flag and also caused Williams' first red flag of pre-season testing, thanks to an internal combustion engine failure. The team was eager to note that the unit had completed plenty of miles.
The Finn said: "I think our final day of testing was very good, right up to a very unlucky failure just one run before the end. Overall, it was a still a good day as we had no other issues throughout and made a lot of progress with the car set-up. I think with this amount of testing we are as prepared for Melbourne as we can be.
"The team has done a great job and thank you also to Mercedes-Benz. We still need to work very hard in these next two weeks but I overall I'm happy with how testing has gone for us. As I didn't have the chance to do a quick time on the supersoft tyre today, I am looking forward to picking up where we left off when we get to Melbourne."
Fernando Alonso also suffered an on-track stoppage mid-way through the afternoon. The Spaniard completed 74 laps on the final day and set the third fastest time. Nico Hulkenberg's day ended early thanks to an engine problem but he also managed 74 laps. Oddly, so did Jean-Eric Vergne who was the fastest Renault-powered runner of the day.
Sauber had a highly productive session after a disappointing day three, where Adrian Sutil only managed one lap. Both drivers took to the track, with Sutil completing 91 laps in the morning and setting the sixth fastest overall time. Esteban Gutierrez took over in the afternoon and set the eighth quickest time. He managed to squeeze 85 laps into his last session at the wheel of the Sauber C33 before Melbourne.
Sauber's driver pairing was split on the timesheets by Max Chilton. An electrical issue forced him to spectate for most of the morning, but the 2013 rookie's afternoon was far more promising. He managed 61 laps and focused predominantly on long runs, as well as procedural work for race weekends.
Red Bull Racing ended winter testing on a positive note after a disastrous Saturday with the RB10 - where Sebastian Vettel managed just four corners. It was still far from smooth after a brake failure cut short his morning running, but he did manage to return to the track and complete a series of longer runs in the afternoon to boost his tally to 77 laps.
The German said: "We did a lot of laps today so that was useful. We tried to do a race distance today; for one reason or another that didn't work out, but in two week's time things should look a little bit different. Obviously it's difficult to know where the car is. It's not just the number of laps you do, but also the type.
"There are so many different running options, not just with tyres and high or low fuel, there are engine options as well - full power, low power etc, so it's impossible to say where we are. We know we have to catch up in a lot of areas, but that said, I'm happy today, we did a lot of laps, we learned a lot and it was a positive end to a tough week here.
Jenson Button's second day in the MP4-29 at the third test was tough. He could only complete 22 laps overall thanks to a similar problem to Bottas, an engine failure, and set the 10th fastest time. It was not the end to testing that McLaren wanted, but it was still a largely productive four days overall.
Caterham's session ended early but the Leafield-based outfit still managed 106 laps. Kamui Kobayashi was at the wheel of the CT05 and completed plenty of running before a clutch problem prompted them to start packing up early.
Lotus endured another nightmare session with its troublesome E22. Romain Grosjean was at the wheel and managed 32 laps before he was forced to park the car on the circuit twice due to a power-unit problem. Despite the team's best efforts, they were forced to call it a day.
The Frenchman said: "We’re not in an ideal situation. There is a lot of new technology for everyone to understand, but even though we have stopped many times and spent a lot of time in the garage, each time we run the car we are learning something new. We’re all working as hard as we can in Enstone and I’m sure that Renault Sport F1 is doing the same. We now have two weeks to find a lot more performance and reliability."
The next time the 2014 F1 cars take to the track, it will be for the first practice session of the season. Lotus and Red Bull certainly look to be in trouble but things could change over the next two weeks. What we do know is that the Mercedes-powered cars look reliable and have managed to complete plenty of performance running.
Personally, I feel Mercedes, McLaren, Williams, Ferrari and Force India look to be the best-prepared teams on the grid. However, it is so difficult to predict a possible pecking order. I really don't know what will happen in Melbourne and that is really exciting, I can't wait to see the cars out on track again and for the season to get going.
Day 4 Times:
1. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), 1m33.278 - 70 laps
2. Valtteri Bottas (Williams), 1m33.987 - 108 laps
3. Fernando Alonso (Ferrari), 1m34.280 - 74 laps
4. Nico Hulkenberg (Force India), 1m35.577 - 74 laps
5. Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso), 1m35.701 - 74 laps
6. Adrian Sutil (Sauber), 1m36.647 - 91 laps
7. Max Chilton (Marussia), 1m36.835 - 61 laps
8. Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber), 1m37.303 - 85 laps
9. Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull), 1m37.468 - 77 laps
10. Jenson Button (McLaren), 1m38.111 - 22 laps
11. Kamui Kobayashi (Caterham), 1m38.391 - 106 laps
12. Romain Grosjean (Lotus), 1m39.302 - 32 laps
 |
| © Mercedes AMG Petronas |
Sunday's session was the last chance for teams to test their 2014 machines before the 2014 season opener in Australia, which takes place in just two weeks' time.
Some expect half of the field to retire during the 58-lap race and that prediction is looking even more likely following the 12th and final day of testing. A number of teams were forced to stop their running early due to reliability woes, including Caterham and Force India.
It was a rather busy and uninterrupted start to the session before Sebastian Vettel brought out the first red flag. The German suffered a brake failure at turn one but the RB10 was repaired in time for some running in the afternoon.
Romain Grosjean's Lotus E22 caused two of the eight red flag periods, with Button, Alonso, Gutierrez, Hulkenberg and Bottas (which was, incredibly, the FW36's first on-track breakdown) all temporarily stopping the session as well.
The final day of testing ended under the recently installed floodlights thanks to the session being extended by 25 minutes, giving teams a little bit more track time and a chance to sample similar conditions to the ones that they will compete in at the Bahrain Grand Prix in April, which will become a day-night race for the first time.
 |
| © Williams F1 Team |
Lewis Hamilton set the fastest time of the day, a 1m33.278, and completed 70 laps at the wheel of the Mercedes W05. His morning session was heavily delayed thanks to a gearbox problem, which cost the team crucial testing time. However, the Brit recovered well and improved his best time late in the day.
Valtteri Bottas led the morning session and managed the most laps of the day - 108. However, he slipped down to second by the chequered flag and also caused Williams' first red flag of pre-season testing, thanks to an internal combustion engine failure. The team was eager to note that the unit had completed plenty of miles.
The Finn said: "I think our final day of testing was very good, right up to a very unlucky failure just one run before the end. Overall, it was a still a good day as we had no other issues throughout and made a lot of progress with the car set-up. I think with this amount of testing we are as prepared for Melbourne as we can be.
"The team has done a great job and thank you also to Mercedes-Benz. We still need to work very hard in these next two weeks but I overall I'm happy with how testing has gone for us. As I didn't have the chance to do a quick time on the supersoft tyre today, I am looking forward to picking up where we left off when we get to Melbourne."
Fernando Alonso also suffered an on-track stoppage mid-way through the afternoon. The Spaniard completed 74 laps on the final day and set the third fastest time. Nico Hulkenberg's day ended early thanks to an engine problem but he also managed 74 laps. Oddly, so did Jean-Eric Vergne who was the fastest Renault-powered runner of the day.
Sauber had a highly productive session after a disappointing day three, where Adrian Sutil only managed one lap. Both drivers took to the track, with Sutil completing 91 laps in the morning and setting the sixth fastest overall time. Esteban Gutierrez took over in the afternoon and set the eighth quickest time. He managed to squeeze 85 laps into his last session at the wheel of the Sauber C33 before Melbourne.
 |
| © Sauber F1 Team |
Sauber's driver pairing was split on the timesheets by Max Chilton. An electrical issue forced him to spectate for most of the morning, but the 2013 rookie's afternoon was far more promising. He managed 61 laps and focused predominantly on long runs, as well as procedural work for race weekends.
Red Bull Racing ended winter testing on a positive note after a disastrous Saturday with the RB10 - where Sebastian Vettel managed just four corners. It was still far from smooth after a brake failure cut short his morning running, but he did manage to return to the track and complete a series of longer runs in the afternoon to boost his tally to 77 laps.
The German said: "We did a lot of laps today so that was useful. We tried to do a race distance today; for one reason or another that didn't work out, but in two week's time things should look a little bit different. Obviously it's difficult to know where the car is. It's not just the number of laps you do, but also the type.
"There are so many different running options, not just with tyres and high or low fuel, there are engine options as well - full power, low power etc, so it's impossible to say where we are. We know we have to catch up in a lot of areas, but that said, I'm happy today, we did a lot of laps, we learned a lot and it was a positive end to a tough week here.
Jenson Button's second day in the MP4-29 at the third test was tough. He could only complete 22 laps overall thanks to a similar problem to Bottas, an engine failure, and set the 10th fastest time. It was not the end to testing that McLaren wanted, but it was still a largely productive four days overall.
 |
| © Caterham F1 Team |
Lotus endured another nightmare session with its troublesome E22. Romain Grosjean was at the wheel and managed 32 laps before he was forced to park the car on the circuit twice due to a power-unit problem. Despite the team's best efforts, they were forced to call it a day.
The Frenchman said: "We’re not in an ideal situation. There is a lot of new technology for everyone to understand, but even though we have stopped many times and spent a lot of time in the garage, each time we run the car we are learning something new. We’re all working as hard as we can in Enstone and I’m sure that Renault Sport F1 is doing the same. We now have two weeks to find a lot more performance and reliability."
The next time the 2014 F1 cars take to the track, it will be for the first practice session of the season. Lotus and Red Bull certainly look to be in trouble but things could change over the next two weeks. What we do know is that the Mercedes-powered cars look reliable and have managed to complete plenty of performance running.
Personally, I feel Mercedes, McLaren, Williams, Ferrari and Force India look to be the best-prepared teams on the grid. However, it is so difficult to predict a possible pecking order. I really don't know what will happen in Melbourne and that is really exciting, I can't wait to see the cars out on track again and for the season to get going.
Day 4 Times:
1. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes), 1m33.278 - 70 laps
2. Valtteri Bottas (Williams), 1m33.987 - 108 laps
3. Fernando Alonso (Ferrari), 1m34.280 - 74 laps
4. Nico Hulkenberg (Force India), 1m35.577 - 74 laps
5. Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso), 1m35.701 - 74 laps
6. Adrian Sutil (Sauber), 1m36.647 - 91 laps
7. Max Chilton (Marussia), 1m36.835 - 61 laps
8. Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber), 1m37.303 - 85 laps
9. Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull), 1m37.468 - 77 laps
10. Jenson Button (McLaren), 1m38.111 - 22 laps
11. Kamui Kobayashi (Caterham), 1m38.391 - 106 laps
12. Romain Grosjean (Lotus), 1m39.302 - 32 laps
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