The ultimate day of pre-season testing concluded today at the Sakhir International Circuit in Bahrain earlier today. And with that, fans and pundits alike are sifting through the lap times to figure out a tentative pecking order before the first race of the season next week. Even though it is common knowledge that the times set during testing aren’t a real representation of the actual pace a team has. However, that hasn’t stopped fans from hyping and dooming the teams along the grid. But it would appear that Mercedes had let the cat amongst the pigeons with their late Lewis Hamilton testing charge.

All throughout the three-day test, the Silver Arrows have shown promise. However, nothing is as concrete as to make us believe that they are truly back to their dominant self. On the second day of testing, Russell even suffered a minor hydraulics issue that meant their Day 2 running was cut short. For all intents and purposes, the Brackley-based outfit has seemed strong, but what they did on the last day of the test has had quite a few heads turning.

As the sun set over the desert, the floodlights showered the track with some representative track conditions for next week’s Bahrain GP. This time of the day is when the teams generally go for their performance runs on the soft compound of tires. Mercedes & Lewis Hamilton did just that. What ensued was purple sector after purple sector as the 7x champion hammered in the fastest lap of the session at 1.30.781. This sent F1 fans over at Twitter into a frenzy.

Fans react as Lewis Hamilton sends shockwaves through the F1 paddock on the last day of testing

As soon as the Brit registered his lap time and soared to the top of the timing sheets, fans stormed Twitter to share their reactions. Safe to say, the fans are in equal measure ecstatic and apprehensive of this showing. One fan even commented, “Sandbags are off ????”

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Let’s take a look at just a few of the fan reactions to Lewis Hamilton’s blistering lap.

While some fans were losing their minds at the prospect of seeing Hamilton once again in capable machinery to fight for that elusive 8th title, others weren’t so accepting of this sudden upturn in form.

All in all, this late testing antic by the team has really piqued the interest of F1 fans across the globe.

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Are Mercedes really back?