Red Bull excels, Mercedes does not, and McLaren surprises.
SAKHIR, Bahrain—Even with a sudden sandstorm with light winds and limited visibility, the first day of pre-season Formula 1 testing at the Sakhir International Circuit ended with Max Verstappen setting the fastest time in his Red Bull. His time on Friday was 1:30:674 on medium tires with a total of 139 laps completed.
Besides Red Bull, McLaren had a fantastic first testing day with their new Mercedes engine as Lando Norris placed second best for the day, two-tenths of a second behind Verstappen.
Esteban Ocon put on a set of soft tires in the afternoon and set the third-best time in his Alpine, four-tenths behind Verstappen, and with a total of 129 laps done. Lance Stroll in the new green Aston Martin entry was next, followed by the Ferrari of Carlos Sainz, a tenth behind the Canadian, in fifth. Antonio Giovinazzi was next in sixth and showed signs why Alfa Romeo resigned him for 2021.
The two Alpha Tauri’s of Pierre Gasly and Japanese rookie Yuki Tsunoda were next in eighth and ninth places, respectively, with Gasly the second-best in the morning session. Gasly was 1.5 seconds behind Verstappen with Tsunoda two seconds adrift.
The big disappointment on Friday was the defending champion Mercedes team. Lewis Hamilton tried to have a last-minute flying lap in his car, but a virtual safety car period minutes from the end ruined his chance to do so.
As for some of the other names testing on Friday, Charles Leclerc was 11th in the Ferrari. Sebastian Vettel was 13th in the Aston Martin, and the two Haas F1 rookies of Nikita Mazapin and Mick Schumacher finished in 15th and 16th, five seconds behind. Schumacher, like Bottas, was the victim of a gearbox issue, while Mazepin did a 360-degree spin despite getting in some solid laps.
Most of the sand which had blown onto the circuit in the afternoon will be cleaned up for Saturday when the weather is expected to improve. The second day of testing will see Sergio Perez’s debut in the Red Bull, while Nicholas Latifi will do the same in the Williams. Fernando Alonso will return in the Alpine following two years away from F1.
