In our first review of the ThinkPad P1 G4, there were problems with the performance of the Tiger Lake CPU. However, we now observe a significant performance improvement with the latest BIOS version, and the CPU performance is now on par with that of the vapor chamber models.
https://www.notebookcheck.net/Lenovo-ThinkPad-P1-G4-Laptop-Review-BIOS-update-provides-more-CPU-performance.597321.0.html
Are you sure that the BIOS update is what solved the problem? It sounds like you were using different hardware, and there are *many* reports of bad heatsink thermal pasting, so I would guess that you are seeing better performance because you have a build that happened to be done better. Can you try downgrading the BIOS and doing the tests again to confirm whether it is the BIOS? I tried 1.09 and 1.13, and didn't notice any difference. With 1.14, the temperatures went *up* and the performance went *down* slightly, so I don't recommend 1.14. On the other hand, I did tests before and after repasting the heat sink, and the performance was *much* better after repasting.