In the first of three days of testing in Bahrain on the Sakhir circuit, Max Verstappen and Red Bull outperformed everyone else, and by a considerable margin. This circuit is expected to host the first Grand Prix of the year on March 3rd. Verstappen, who is the current world champion, completed a total of 142 laps, with his fastest time being 1’31”344. His time was over a second faster than Lando Norris of McLaren, who clocked in at 1’32”484, earning him second place. Following closely was Carlos Sainz of Ferrari with a time of 1’32”584, making him third fastest. Charles Leclerc, also from Ferrari, had the seventh fastest time with 1’33”247.
It is important to view Verstappen’s performance with some skepticism as each team employs different aerodynamic strategies and uses varying amounts of fuel. However, it’s worth noting that the world champion clocked a time significantly faster than the times recorded on the first day of testing at the start of the previous season. The focus for all teams was primarily on reliability and the necessity to gather as much data as possible with the new single-seaters and cover extensive distances.
