The first hours of testing are always exciting for teams. The new cars have just been run in, any serious problem can lead to a major loss of time on the already short three-day tests.
It looked like it would be when red flags appeared as early as the tenth minute – Felipe Drugovic, driving an Aston Martin, on command from the pits, retired in the fourth corner due to problems with the electrics. The Brazilian’s AMR23 had to be evacuated.
The crane was close by, but it was a long wait for the loader and mechanics to return the car to the team, so the first half hour was lost for everyone. An hour later, Drugovich was able to leave.
Nico Hülkenberg lost a small piece of underbody after attacking the turn 6 curb, but the mechanics quickly fixed it.
The riders often locked the tires under braking and went off the track, but there are wide safety zones in Sakhir, so there were no accidents.
The power plants remained the same, the new cars are very reliable – starting with aerodynamic tests, everyone soon switched to working in a series of circles. Immediately, six riders were able to cover the full distance of the race in Bahrain (57 laps).
Verstappen set the fastest time with a lap time of 1:32.959, already one second faster than last year’s results from the first day of testing in Bahrain (1:33.902).
At the end of the session, the FIA activated virtual safety car mode to test the operation of this and other systems.
There is a one-hour break ahead, after which all teams, except Red Bull Racing, change drivers.
Results of the morning session
| Pilot | Team | Time | Difference | Circles |
| 1. M. Verstappen | Red Bull | 1:32,959 | – | 71 |
| 2. K. Sainz | Ferrari | 1:33.253 | +0.294 | 72 |
| 3A Elbon | Willems | 1:33,671 | +0.712 | 74 |
| 4.G Zhou | Alfa Romeo | 1:33,723 | +0.764 | 67 |
| 5.D Russell | Mercedes | 1:34.174 | +1,215 | 69 |
| 6. N. Hulkenberg | hare | 1:34,424 | +1,465 | 51 |
| 7. F.Drugovich | Aston Martin | 1:34,564 | +1,605 | 40 |
| 8. Y. Tsunoda | AlphaTauri | 1:34,671 | +1,712 | 46 |
| 9.P Gasly | Alps | 1:34,822 | +1,863 | 60 |
| 10. O. Piastri | McLaren | 1:34,888 | +1,929 | 52 |
Source: F1 News
I am Christopher Clyde, an experienced journalist and content writer with a passion for sports. I have been writing about Formula 1 news for the past five years and am currently employed as an author at athletistic.com, one of the top sports websites in the US.
