First and foremost, I hope that everyone enjoyed the action from Formula 1 pre-season testing at the Bahrain International Circuit.
Seeing the cars back out on track was certainly a joy and it has really stoked my excited for the new campaign that is about to get started.
Reflecting on the weekend and my first time covering testing in a full capacity, my overriding emotion is one of admiration for the people that put this show on the road.
While we all know the drivers and team principals that generate the headlines, I could not help but feel amazed at the tireless work put in by the engineers, mechanics, analysts and PR personnel who function almost around the clock to ensure that their team can put its best foot forward.
After just three days sat at home watching on TV I feel exhausted, so I cannot imagine what a full season on the road with the F1 circus must be like.
In terms of the on track action, I am always wary about making concrete predictions based on testing alone, but it was certainly an intriguing three-day session.
Both Honda teams, Red Bull and AlphaTauri, looked particularly strong, with AlphaTauri tying Alfa Romeo for the most laps completed.
Meanwhile, Red Bull topped three of the six sessions across the weekend and appeared to have ironed out the twitchiness that dominated conversation in Barcelona last year. Red Bull finished the 2020 season with a win in Abu Dhabi and should not be ruled out of making it two in row when we reach the 2021 season opener.
Elsewhere, Mercedes seem to have genuine concerns about their speed, with reliability issues reducing their running and the running of customer team Aston Martin. Mercedes are notorious for sandbagging during testing, but quotes from Andrew Shovlin on Sunday evening suggest they are at least a little worried.
Anyway, this article is not about testing takeaways, but instead, photos. With the cars completing so many laps, there are plenty of opportunities for the photographers to get creative, so I decided to show off my top 11 from the last three days in Bahrain.
If you can think of some better captions, please feel free to leave them in the comments below.
1. Love the first day of school vibes from this one.
2. A lovely close up of Max cutting through the sand.
3. A livery that has really grown on me.
4. Stroll, Lance Stroll.
5. Not hi-def, but a tribute to a legend of Formula 1.
6. Weird but cool.
7. Last Red Bull picture I promise.
8. Looks like the sand escaped Mercedes' bag.
9. Barring the green, that is a nice looking car.
10. Get in the car Lewis.
11. This man could be a star of the future.
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