BAHRAIN GP – Daniel Ricciardo fastest in first practice, three hundredths ahead of the McLaren’s
Daniel Ricciardo was fastest in first practice for this weekend’s Bahrain Grand Prix, the RB driver set a 38.254 on the soft tyre, that put him three hundredths ahead of both McLaren’s. However, conditions in FP1 are unreprehensive of qualifying and the race.
Norris split the two Australians after he was almost two tenths faster than his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri. While the second RB of Yuki Tsunoda was fourth, seven-tenths behind. Both RB and McLaren have had a much better start to the season, but the times were all on soft tyres whereas the top three teams didn’t choose the soft tyres.
Fernando Alonso put his Aston Martin fifth however on used tyres and fastest of the medium runners, he was a hundredth behind Tsunoda, and ahead of the favourite for this season Max Verstappen. The three-time champion is around half a hundredth behind the Spaniard and ahead of George Russell by just over a hundredth.
Verstappen starts as clear favourite for this season again after winning nineteen of last season’s twenty-two races, did not yet appear happy with the handling of his RB20. Verstappen over team radio during his first run of the session, said “Everything is like miles off.”
Rival teams up and down the pit lane expect Verstappen and Red Bull to dominate the season, but he spent the session complaining about inconsistent gearshifts – a recurring issue for him over the past two seasons which had little effect on his control over the sport.
The RBs and McLarens locked out the top of the timesheet after using the soft tyre, whereas those behind finished within striking distance on absolute lap time despite staying with the slower medium compound.
However, the chasing pack remained close with Alonso down to Verstappen’s teammate Sergio Perez was covered by less than two tenths. But FP2 will give the best indication of whether the predictions and expectations of both the gap closing to Red Bull and the chasing pack being even tighter than last year are true.
There are several significant caveats to the results of practice sessions at the best of times but that is especially the case for two of the three sessions in Bahrain, Practices One and Three, given they take place in day-time conditions whereas the key sessions of the weekend take place in the evening under floodlights when the temperature is cooler.
That effectively made the session an extra two hours of testing for all the teams as they ran both cars for the first time this year, as they attempted to fine tune any problems they found last week in Sakhir.
Most of the pack headed out immediately at the start of the one-hour session where windy conditions prevailed in relatively cool temperatures, with all the early running conducted on the medium tyres, which was the softer hard tyre (C2) last week in testing.
Mercedes looks to be in a good position compared to last year, Russell just over a hundredth off Verstappen with Charles Leclerc in between him and teammate Lewis Hamilton. Leclerc three hundredths ahead of his future teammate for next year, after the seven time champion announced earlier in the month he would join Ferrari next year.
Valtteri Bottas was tenth, as the Sauber name returned to the grid as they transition to Audi for 2026. The Finn was half a second ahead of Carlos Sainz with the second Red Bull of Sergio Perez three tenths off. But despite late improvements on the soft tyre couldn’t improve his lap times.
Alex Albon put his Williams ahead of Lance Stroll and Guanyu Zhou. Logan Sargeant was sixteenth fastest ahead of both the Alpine’s. the French manufacturer goes into this season knowing it’s towards the back, Esteban Ocon three-tenths faster than his teammate Pierre Gasly.
While another team Haas, as they expected, also on the backfoot completed the field with Kevin Magnussen over two seconds off Gasly and ahead of teammate Nico Hulkenberg.
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