Russell ends Bahrain test on top with Mercedes

George Russell improved late in the day to set the fastest time of Formula 1 testing in Bahrain, driving for Mercedes instead of his 2019 race team Williams.

Russell drove for Williams on Tuesday at the post-Bahrain Grand Prix test before taking over from Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes, which retains close ties to its former junior driver.

An improvement in the final hour of the test allowed Russell to set a 1m29.029s, leapfrogging Racing Point's Sergio Perez by just 0.066s.

However, Russell's work was delayed by what Mercedes described as a "small water leak".

Mercedes chief race engineer Andrew Shovlin said: "That wasn't a quick fix, which delayed our afternoon programme quite considerably. Whilst we couldn't complete all our test items, we've done the important bits."

Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel's early-morning time stood as the benchmark for most of the day, before Perez improved with less than two hours remaining.

Vettel never improved on his 1m29.319s, and slipped to third in the final standings.

The German was one of seven drivers to clear 100 laps as teams looked to make up for a disappointing day of testing on Tuesday, which was interrupted by persistent rain.

Among that septet was Red Bull's F1 test debutant Dan Ticktum, who racked up 134 laps – second only to Alex Albon's 143-lap tally.

Ticktum wound up ninth fastest, 1.8s off the pace, as he ticked off a major aim for 2019 by testing Red Bull's RB15.

His significant mileage will be a result of Red Bull seeking answers to its set-up problems that have held it back over the first two grands prix of the season.

Ticktum's lap count was nearly double that of his 2018 European Formula 3 title rival Mick Schumacher.

The son of seven-time F1 champion Michael swapped the Ferrari he made his own debut in on Tuesday for the Alfa Romeo on Wednesday.

Schumacher only completed 70 laps, though, on his way to setting the sixth-fastest time – a 1m29.998s.

That was the lowest tally of any driver who completed a full day of running.

Several drivers were able to pump in performance runs near the end of their programmes.

Daniil Kvyat jumped to fifth while completing Pirelli tyre testing duties, setting a 1m29.911s on the penultimate lap of his 111-lap day.

Likewise, fellow tyre tester Fernando Alonso posted a 1m31.006s on lap 68 of 69, sharing McLaren's Pirelli work with Carlos Sainz.

Pos	Driver	Team	Time	Gap	Laps
1	George Russell	Mercedes	1'29.029		101
2	Sergio Perez	Racing Point	1'29.095	+0.066s	60
3	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	1'29.319	+0.290s	102
4	Carlos Sainz	McLaren	1'29.795	+0.766s	20
5	Daniil Kvyat	Toro Rosso	1'29.911	+0.882s	111
6	Mick Schumacher	Alfa Romeo	1'29.998	+0.969s	70
7	Alexander Albon	Toro Rosso	1'30.037	+1.008s	143
8	Lance Stroll	Racing Point	1'30.049	+1.020s	35
9	Dan Ticktum	Red Bull	1'30.856	+1.827s	134
10	Romain Grosjean	Haas	1'30.903	+1.874s	86
11	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	1'31.006	+1.977s	69
12	Pietro Fittipaldi	Haas VF-19	1'31.209	+2.180s	48
13	Lando Norris	McLaren	1'31.303	+2.274s	72
14	Jack Aitken	Renault	1'31.500	+2.471s	103
15	Nicholas Latifi	Williams	1'32.198	+3.169s	100

Slider

List

Dan Ticktum, Red Bull Racing RB15

1/33

Photo by: Jerry Andre / Motorsport Images

George Russell, Mercedes AMG F1 W10

2/33

Photo by: Jerry Andre / Motorsport Images

Lance Stroll, Racing Point RP19

3/33

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

Alexander Albon, Toro Rosso STR14

4/33

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

George Russell, Mercedes AMG F1 W10

5/33

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

George Russell, Mercedes AMG F1 W10

6/33

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

George Russell, Mercedes AMG F1 W10

7/33

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari SF90

8/33

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

Lance Stroll, Racing Point RP19

9/33

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

Carlos Sainz Jr., McLaren MCL34

10/33

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

Pietro Fittipaldi, Haas F1 Team VF-19

11/33

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

Alexander Albon, Toro Rosso STR14 and Carlos Sainz Jr., McLaren MCL34

12/33

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

Lando Norris, McLaren MCL34

13/33

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

Nicholas Latifi, Williams Racing FW42

14/33

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

Alexander Albon, Toro Rosso STR14

15/33

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

Lando Norris, McLaren MCL34 and Carlos Sainz Jr., McLaren MCL34

16/33

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

Carlos Sainz Jr., McLaren MCL34

17/33

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

Pietro Fittipaldi, Haas F1 Team VF-19

18/33

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

Nicholas Latifi, Williams Racing FW42

19/33

Photo by: Joe Portlock / Motorsport Images

Antonio Giovinazzi, Alfa Romeo Racing C38

20/33

Photo by: Joe Portlock / Motorsport Images

Mick Schumacher, Alfa Romeo Racing C38

21/33

Photo by: Jerry Andre / Motorsport Images