The official three-day F1 pre-season test has concluded – and it looks very tight at the top ahead of Australia. Kieran Jackson explains what we learned in Bahrain

With F1’s current regulations now in their fourth year, the performance gaps that gave front-runners comfortable advantages are shrinking fast. Teams that were once struggling to keep pace have had enough time with these cars to catch up on the learning curve. (See: Ferrari and McLaren’s surge last year .)

Testing in Bahrain is over and done with and Lewis Hamilton is as prepared as he can be for his first Formula 1 season with Ferrari, which he hopes to end with an eighth title success