Bahrain Testing Day 1: Gasly sets the fastest time ahead of the Ferraris

Pierre Gasly starts the season strong behind the wheel of his AlphaTauri. The Frenchman achieved the fastest time on the first day of testing in Bahrain with a time of 1:33.902 on the C5 tires, the softest option provided by Pirelli. It’s a good performance for the Italian team, although it should be noted that these are just tests where not all teams were focused on performance. Gasly, who drove all day, completed over 100 laps in these first tests. Promising signs for AlphaTauri.

The Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz complete the podium. The Monegasque, who set the fastest time in the morning, is ahead of the Spaniard. The two drivers have accumulated over 100 laps between them and have achieved good lap times on the C3 tires.

For Aston Martin, Lance Stroll set the fourth fastest time on the softest tires (C5). The Canadian driver completed 50 laps but damaged his car after a rack (a grid-shaped measuring instrument visible during tests) came loose. The resulting red flag and damages to the undertray did not prevent Stroll from quickly returning to the track.

The day was more complicated for McLaren. Daniel Ricciardo was sick, so Lando Norris drove from morning to evening. The Briton had a difficult morning due to a problem with the brake cooling system and could not drive much. 21 laps this morning, 26 this afternoon, where the car encountered the same technical issues again. A delicate first for the Woking team, which was driving for the first time with its new livery.

Norris still takes the sixth time behind the Williams of Alexander Albon, who did not improve his morning lap time, but was able to complete more than fifty valuable laps this afternoon to gather data.

Behind the Thai driver, Valtteri Bottas takes the seventh fastest time on C3 tires, just like the five drivers following him: Vettel, Russell, Perez, Hamilton, and Alonso. The Finn was able to complete 66 laps for his new team. Reliability seems to be on track for Alfa Romeo, which had struggled during the Barcelona tests.

The Mercedes, with their controversial sidepods, have remained rather discreet, but George Russell set the ninth fastest time by completing sixty laps around the Sakhir circuit. The legality of the W13 remains a major topic of discussion in the paddock and it is still difficult to know what advantages the Silver Arrows will be able to derive from their sidepods.

Like Gasly, Norris or Albon, Sergio Perez was the only driver from his team on track today. With 138 laps, the Mexican driver has completed the most mileage today. He made a small mistake that sent him into the gravel trap a few minutes before the end of the day, causing a red flag which marked the end of the session. No consequences for the car.

Quiet afternoon at Alpine. Fernando Alonso was only able to complete 24 laps after the team wanted to drastically change the car’s configuration. Twelfth fastest time, just ahead of his teammate, and not much to draw from it.

For Haas, it was finally the start of the trials. Deprived of tests this morning due to the delayed arrival of their equipment, the German team was finally able to hit the track. Brazilian Pietro Fittipaldi completed 47 laps in the afternoon and recorded the slowest time among the 15 participants.