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Who was fastest in F1 pre-season testing in Bahrain? Was it Verstappen?

By:

Deputy Sports Editor - Morning Wire

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Formula 1 Testing in Bahrain - Day 1
BAHRAIN, BAHRAIN - FEBRUARY 21: Max Verstappen of the Netherlands and Oracle Red Bull Racing walks in the paddock following the first testing session during day one of F1 Testing at Bahrain International Circuit on February 21, 2024 in Bahrain, Bahrain. (Photo by Kym Illman/Getty Images)

Reigning F1 world champion Max Verstappen led the season’s first day of testing by over one second in a dominant display ahead of next week’s opener.

Verstappen finished 1.14 seconds clear of McLaren’s Lando Norris with the Red Bull 1.15 seconds ahead of Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz.

Daniel Ricciardo and Pierre Gasly completed the top five on the first day.

The fastest Mercedes was 12th with Lewis Hamilton not setting a time on Tuesday.

The Bahrain testing comes 10 days before the season opener at the same track with Verstappen looking for a fourth title.

F1 lap times – day one

  • 1. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) – one minute 31.344 seconds
  • 2. Lando Norris (McLaren) – 1:32.484
  • 3. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) – 1:32.584
  • 4. Daniel Ricciardo (RB) – 1:32.599
  • 5. Pierre Gasly (Alpine) – 1:32.805
  • 6. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) – 1:33.007
  • 7. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) – 1:33.247
  • 8. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) – 1:33.385
  • 9. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) – 1:33.658
  • 10. Zhou Guanyu (Sauber) -1:33.871
  • 11. Logan Sargeant (Williams) – 1:33.882
  • 12. George Russell (Mercedes) – 1:34.109
  • 13. Yuki Tsunoda (RB) – 1:34.136
  • 14. Valtteri Bottas (Sauber) – 1:34.431
  • 15. Alex Albon (Williams) – 1:34.587
  • 16. Esteban Ocon (Alpine) – 134.677
  • 17. Kevin Magnussen (Haas) – 1:35.692
  • 18. Nico Hulkenberg (Haas) – 1:35.906

The season

February 29 – March 2BahrainSakhir
March 7-9Saudi ArabiaJeddah
March 22-24AustraliaMelbourne
April 5-7JapanSuzuka
April 19-21ChinaShanghai
May 3-5MiamiMiami
May 17-19Emilia RomagnaImola
May 24-26MonacoMonaco
June 7-9CanadaMontreal
June 21-23SpainBarcelona
June 28-30AustriaSpielberg
July 5-7United KingdomSilverstone
July 19-21HungaryBudapest
July 26-28BelgiumSpa
August 23-25NetherlandsZandvoort
August 30 – September 1ItalyMonza
September 13-15AzerbaijanBaku
September 20-22SingaporeSingapore
October 18-20USAAustin
October 25-27MexicoMexico City
November 1-3BrazilSao Paulo
November 21-23Las VegasLas Vegas
November 29 – December 1QatarLusail
December 6-8Abu DhabiYas Marina
The calendar