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What stood out during the first day of the F1 test in Bahrain?
- Ludo van Denderen
A nine-hour test - indeed, one more than planned - kicked off the Formula 1 season in Bahrain. Lando Norris was the fastest, although no too many conclusions should be drawn from the pecking order after barely a single test. However some things did stand out during the first day of winter testing.
For every Formula 1 team, it is the biggest fear: turning out on the first day to have a car that is anything but reliable and also defective. At first glance, it seems that the 10 F1 teams are yet to face any reliability issues. The intended programmes appear to have been fully completed.
Despite the cars being completely new, the differences were already marginal. Only both Haas F1 drivers failed to put meaningful times on the board (perhaps related to their programme), the rest of the field were again within tenths of each other. Judging from this first day, it looks to be a very exciting season indeed, with the top teams close together.
Red Bull strong on the longruns
McLaren was thus the fastest, which was expected by many. Yet most remarkable was the speed of the Red Bull, especially during the longruns, during which the Austrian team of Max Verstappen and Liam Lawson even seemed to have the upper hand over McLaren and Ferrari.
Ferrari was also amongst the teams that - if you had to name one - disappointed? Over a lap, the Italians conceded four tenths to McLaren, even though it was thought beforehand that the Woking-based team and the Maranello-based squad would not be inferior to each other. Nevertheless: wait and see how the testing goes, the real balance of power will only become clear in Melbourne.
So was there no downside to the day at all? Well, not among the F1 teams or drivers. However, the circuit owner will have to check over the coming night that all power related matters are back in order and that the lights don't go out again on Thursday.
This article was written in collaboration with Norberto Mujica.
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