Bahrain Test, day-1 ranking: we start again from the Norris-Verstappen challenge. The third wheel is Leclerc

Bahrain Test, the ranking of day 1 PosPilotaTeamTimeDistacchiLapsTires1Lando NorrisMcLaren1:34.669–58C22Max VerstappenRed Bull1:34.798+0.129136C33Charles LeclercFerrari1:35.190+0.52180C34Esteban OconHaas1:35.578+0.909115C35Oscar PiastriMcLaren1:35.602+0.93354C26George RussellMercedes1:36.108+1.43956C37Lewis HamiltonFerrari1:36.433+1.76452C38Pierre GaslyAlpine1:36.765+2.09649C39Nico HulkenbergAudi1:36.861+2.19273C310Alex AlbonWilliams1:37.437+2.76868C311Kimi AntonelliMercedes1:37.629+2.96030C112Arvid LindbladRacing Bulls1:37.945+3.27675C313Carlos SainzWilliams1:38.221+3.55277C314Sergio PerezCadillac1:38.828+4.15958C115Gabriel BortoletoAudi1:38.871+4.20249C316Valtteri BottasCadillac1:39.150+4.48149C217Lance StrollAston Martin1:39.883+5.21436C218Franco ColapintoAlpine1:40.330+5.66128C2 Bahrain test, the news of day-1 The first day of pre-season testing in Bahrain has ended and after the much talked about regulatory revolution which took place in winter, the Circus for the moment has given us the same protagonists as last year: Lando Norris and Max Verstappen. In the afternoon, the Englishman overtook the Dutchman – who had been the fastest of all in the morning – and set the fastest time of the day. A great satisfaction for those called upon to defend the #1 on the nose. Verstappen, however, wins the workaholic award of the day with 136 laps completed. The McLaren Piastri-Norris duo, to draw a parallel, completed 112 with two drivers. Third wheel, at the moment is Ferrari. Charles Leclerc, who inherited the car from Lewis Hamilton in the afternoon, set the third fastest time overall, albeit half a second behind Norris’s time. However, the SF-26 is another of the cars that clocked up the most kilometers today with 132 laps completed between morning and afternoon. Among the big teams, the team that emerges a little disappointed from these first eight hours of activity in Sakhir is Mercedes: the Brackley team completed 56 laps with George Russell in the morning – sixth overall time of the day for him – but only 30 with Kimi Antonelli, slowed down by a technical problem. Meritorious mention instead for Haas, which placed fourth with Esteban Ocon, author of 115 laps and the only other driver besides Verstappen to have achieved triple figures individually. Williams also put in a lot of laps with the Albon-Sainz pair: a good sign for the Grove team after their sensational absence from the collective shakedown days in Barcelona. The teams most in difficulty, however – at least for the moment – appear to be Cadillac, Audi and Aston Martin. For Adrian Newey’s team, only 36 laps were completed today with the Canadian Lance Stroll. Bahrain Test, live coverage of day 1. You can relive the emotions of the test day with our live coverage. The program Formula 1 returns to the track tomorrow morning from 8 to 12 for the morning session of day 2 of testing.