Lewis Hamilton names three teams that 'Caught His Eye' during F1 preseason testing

With the 2021 Formula 1 season just a few weeks away, all 10 teams were in action for F1 preseason testing. On day three of F1 pre-season testing, Max Verstappen recorded the fastest time for Red Bull followed by Yuki Tsunoda for AlphaTauri and Carlos Sainz for Ferrari. With Mercedes having been off the pace, defending champion Lewis Hamilton revealed Mercedes' biggest rivals for this season.

Lewis Hamilton: Alpine, McLaren and Red Bull most impressive

Lewis Hamilton has named Alpine, McLaren and Red Bull as the three teams that have been the most impressive throughout F1 preseason testing. Red Bull has particularly enjoyed a strong test as Sergio Perez set the fastest lap time of testing on Sunday morning while Max Verstappen topped the timings on Sunday evening. Meanwhile, Daniel Ricciardo led two of the six sessions for McLaren while Fernando Alonso recorded an impressive tally of laps at a consistent pace for Alpine.

Hamilton is excited to see his rivals demonstrating a stronger pace as that means the 2021 F1 season will be more competitive as compared to previous years. "Without doubt, it is quite impressive to see the speed of some of the other teams. Red Bull are looking particularly strong, and it’s great to see McLaren also looking strong, also Renault [Alpine]. I’m excited as that means more fun," said Hamilton.

Hamilton optimistic ahead of 2021 F1 season despite Mercedes' troubled F1 preseason testing

Although Red Bull dominated F1 preseason testing, Lewis Hamilton has insisted that there is no reason for Mercedes to panic yet as they have won several championships in the last decade. Hamilton said, "It’s better that it doesn’t go smooth now and goes smooth once we get into the racing scene. This is the perfect time for us to find the issues and have the problems, so I welcome that. I think everyone’s just keeping their heads down, no-one’s particularly fazed by it. We’re a multi-championship-winning team and we know how to pull together and keep our head down and focus on our job." This season, Mercedes will look to win their eighth consecutive Constructor's Championship.

F1 2021 schedule

With F1 preseason testing completed, the 2021 F1 season is just two weeks away. The first race on the calendar is the Bahrain Grand Prix on March 28th followed by the Italian and Portuguese Grand Prix. The Australian Grand Prix, which is usually the first race of the season, is now rescheduled to November.