Your guide to the opening day of F1 pre-season testing

Testing is split into two sessions each day. In Bahrain, it starts at 10:00 am local time (8:00 am CET / 7:00 am GMT) and ends at 2:15 pm local time (12:15 pm CET / 11:15 am GMT). The afternoon session starts at 15:15 Bahrain time (13:15 CET / 12:15 GMT) and also lasts for four hours.

Who will be in action on Thursday?

During the first day of testing, almost all regular Formula 1 drivers will be in action. At Red Bull Racing, only Max Verstappen will be in action. Teammate Sergio Perez will remain sidelined throughout the first day. Lance Stroll is also missing. The Aston Martin Canadian is recovering from a cycling accident and will have to miss the entire test. His replacement is Felipe Drugovic.

Morning (Start 7:00am GMT)
Red Bull - Verstappen
Ferrari - Sainz
Mercedes - Russell
Alpine - Gasly
McLaren - Piastri
Alfa Romeo - Zhou
Aston Martin - Drugovich
Haas - Hulkenberg
AlphaTauri - Tsunoda
Williams - Albon

Afternoon (1:15pm - 5:30pm):
Red Bull - Verstappen
Ferrari - Leclerc
Mercedes - Hamilton
Alpine - Ocon
McLaren - Norris
Alfa Romeo - Bottas
Aston Martin - Alonso
Haas - Magnussen
AlphaTauri - De Vries
Williams - Sargeant

What's the weather like in Bahrain?

The Bahrain International Circuit is located in the middle of the desert. Only 60 millilitres of rain falls in Bahrain annually on average, so it is not surprising that it will be dry on Thursday. With daytime temperatures around 25 degrees Celsius, the weather is good. Once the sun has set, the mercury can drop to around 18 degrees Celsius. There could be a nice breeze on the circuit, though.

Will we see anything new?

Yes indeed! Several teams did not show their actual 2023 car during the launches. In some cases, the car shown was the 2022 car, with a new (or familiar) livery. Most attention on Thursday will undoubtedly go to world champion Red Bull Racing, which will show the Adrian Newey-designed car to the world for the first time.

What tyres are the drivers using?

These are pre-season tests, so the teams are completely free in their tyre choices. Each team gets 30 sets of tyres. Pirelli has brought all seven dry-weather tyre compounds, one of which is a prototype (C3 Proto). Teams will get two sets of this prototype, on top of the thirty sets of the usual tyres.

For viewers, it will be a puzzle for a while which tyres the teams are driving with. Pirelli therefore works with colours, plus half and full circles. Below is an overview:

We're bringing all the compounds to #F1's Bahrain pre-season test

Here's how to tell the tyres apart when the cars are out on track #F1 #Fit4F1 pic.twitter.com/6tcRmFdAEa

— Pirelli Motorsport (@pirellisport) February 22, 2023

What should we infer from the times driven?

Well, drawing too many conclusions is difficult. While it is possible to see with the naked eye which tyres a team is driving on (the softer the tyre, the faster the car should go), it is of course unknown how much fuel is on board. In addition, teams work through a precisely defined programme, where driving fast times is not always a must.

In the desert of Bahrain, the term 'sandbagging' will regularly come up over the next few days. No, the cars do not take sand. But the teams often try to throw sand in the eyes of the competition by not driving the times you would expect based on their status. The first day anyway, no team will go all out.

How do you follow all the action?

For the die-hard fan, the three days of testing can be followed live from start to finish. All the action will be liveblogged on GPblog, with it also being broadcast on Sky Sports F1 in the UK. The broadcast will start at 6:50 am and the afternoon session can be seen from 12:10.