Lando Norris was fastest on the opening day of pre-season testing at the Bahrain International Circuit, the McLaren driver set a 30.430 going almost a second faster than Kimi Antonelli who was fastest during the morning session. The McLaren driver continued where he left off the last Grand Prix with victory.<\/p>\n
Norris put his McLaren just over a tenth and a half ahead of George Russell and Max Verstappen, with early running suggesting another close season. He set the fastest lap following a lengthy red flag, remaining unchallenged by Verstappen or Russell.<\/p>\n
Norris’s time was eight-tenths off his fastest time in Q3 last March.<\/p>\n
Russell said he was encouraged by the performance of the Mercedes, after three seasons when the team knew from testing that they were facing a tough time in the months ahead.<\/p>\n
Russell said: “The car is performing well. We’ve got to be careful because in Bahrain it’s usually 20C hotter. This is the best it has ever felt around Bahrain but I’m sure it’s the same for all testees. I am enjoying it. I had confidence, the long-run pace looked all right.\u201d<\/p>\n
However, it is way to early given the many variables to say what the pecking order is but many are expecting another close season.<\/p>\n
Charles Leclerc put his Ferrari fourth going two-tenths behind Verstappen and three-quarters of a tenth faster than former teammate Carlos Sainz. Unusual for testing it saw all twenty drivers take part driving either the morning or afternoon session on the opening day.<\/p>\n
While there were no driver errors there was a lengthy red flag caused by a power failure which saw an hours break during the afternoon with running extended under the lights well into the evening. The session was suspended for an hour until power was restored, with F1, the FIA and the teams soon agreeing to extend running by a further 60 minutes to make up for the lost time.<\/p>\n
Pierre Gasly was sixth putting his Alpine seven thousandths ahead of Kimi Antonelli, and Liam Lawson was eighth going four hundredths faster than Alex Albon. Albon nearly also four hundredths faster than Yuki Tsunoda, the only two drivers in the top ten who drove the morning session.<\/p>\n
Lawson was the morning\u2019s most significant driver error when he spun the Red Bull at Turn Two. But the New Zealander did finish his session second fastest after completing one lap more than the race distance.<\/p>\n
The day’s six fastest times were set by drivers who competed in the afternoon session, when conditions in an already unseasonably chilly Bahrain were slightly cooler amid fading daylight.<\/p>\n
Antonelli was the fastest of the morning runners going ninth overall a second off Norris\u2019 fastest time. A much more positive start unlike in FP1 at Monza where on his first outing he crashed on his first timed run, Antonelli set a 31.428 to top the morning times by just under half a second.<\/p>\n
The day was without any yellow or red flags caused by driver error, however the afternoon session was red-flagged following a power substation failure just as the sunset forced an hours delay and the session extended into the evening. Crucially for the teams that is the race and qualifying start time for the Grand Prix in April.<\/p>\n
Tsunoda was two hundredths behind Albon as he had the same margin over his new teammate Isack Hadjar, the Japanese driver drove the morning session going fastest.<\/p>\n
Hadjar was another spinner but kept it out the wall at Turn Four with a 360-degree spin. The French rookie was the first onto the track this season and the first to make a mistake.<\/p>\n
Testing can be a notoriously unreliable indicators of actual competitiveness, as there are so many factors affecting performance that teams do not reveal, such as fuel loads and engine power modes. An added factor on the opening day were unusual weather conditions with cool fifteen-degree air temperatures, wind and the threat of rain.<\/p>\n
Gabriel Bortoleto was twelfth fastest the Sauber six hundredths behind the Racing Bull. Lewis Hamilton’s first official session as a Ferrari driver saw him thirteenth doing seventy laps in the morning, without major setback, although he had several small moments at Turn Four where he ran slightly wide and kicked up sand.<\/p>\n
The seven-time champion completed seventy laps, initially building up from short stints of five to six laps to double figures as the morning wore on. His opening session seemed to run without a major setback, although he had several small moments at Turn Four where he ran slightly wide and kicked up sand.<\/p>\n
Hamilton was just seven thousandths faster than Jack Doohan, while Fernando Alonso was also seven thousandths faster than his Aston Martin teammate Lance Stroll. The Canadian managed the least mileage during his afternoon stint, not even managing race distance.<\/p>\n
Oscar Piastri was seventeenth three-quarters of a second faster than Sauber\u2019s Nico Hulkenberg. Haas took what appears to be mileage over speed, which meant they ended the day bottom of the times, Esteban Ocon nearly two seconds faster than teammate Ollie Bearman.<\/p>\n