The first official day of Formula 1 testing in Sakhir ended with Lando Norris fastest for McLaren, although the overall picture pointed to a very competitive start to the year. Norris gradually built speed during the afternoon session and eventually set a 1:34.669 lap under the floodlights to move ahead of Max Verstappen.

Red Bull had controlled much of the day before that moment. Verstappen led at the midday break and later improved to a 1:34.820, underlining both performance and consistency. He completed an impressive 136 laps, one of the highest totals of the field, highlighting encouraging reliability from the new Red Bull Ford Powertrains package.

Ferrari also showed solid pace. Charles Leclerc moved into third after taking over from Lewis Hamilton at lunchtime, while Oscar Piastri slipped back to fifth by the end of the session. Mercedes drivers George Russell and Hamilton followed, although Hamilton experienced a spin in difficult windy morning conditions. The team also lost valuable track time after a chassis issue limited Andrea Kimi Antonelli’s running.

Further down the order, Haas had a productive start with Esteban Ocon completing over 100 laps. Aston Martin, on the other hand, encountered power unit data irregularities that restricted Lance Stroll to just 36 laps.

Track action was mostly smooth, interrupted only by two brief red flags caused by Franco Colapinto in the morning and Nico Hülkenberg in the afternoon. Both incidents were minor, allowing the session to resume quickly. Pre-season testing in Bahrain continues on Thursday and Friday.

Results: Bahrain test day 1

1. Lando Norris (McLaren) – 1:34.669, 58 laps, C2 (tyre compound)
2. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) – +0.129, 136 laps, C3
3. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) – +0.521, 80 laps, C3
4. Esteban Ocon (Haas) – +0.909, 115 laps, C3
5. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) – +0.933, 54 laps, C3
6. George Russell (Mercedes) – +1.439, 56 laps, C3
7. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) – +1.764, 52 laps, C3
8. Pierre Gasly (Alpine) – +2.096, 49 laps, C3
9. Nico Hülkenberg (Audi) – +2.192, 73 laps, C3
10. Alex Albon (Williams) – +2.768, 68 laps, C3
11. Andrea Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) – +2.960, 30 laps, C1
12. Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls) – +3.276, 75 laps, C3
13. Carlos Sainz (Williams) – +3.552, 77 laps, C3
14. Sergio Perez (Cadillac) – +4.159, 58 laps, C2
15. Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi) – +4.202, 49 laps, C3
16. Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac) – +4.481, 49 laps, C1
17. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) – +5.214, 36 laps, C2
18. Franco Colapinto (Alpine) – +5.661, 28 laps, C2