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Results FP1 in Bahrain: Verstappen on top, difficult start for Aston Martin

26 March 2021 at 13:12
Last update 26 March 2021 at 18:06
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  • GPblog.com

The first free practice of 2021 was a sweet one for Max Verstappen, but the times were remarkably close. The Dutchman was 0.298 seconds faster than Valtteri Bottas. The entire top eight were within a second of each other.

Mercedes not on top

It is the first time since 2014 that Mercedes weren't at the top of the timesheet in the first free practice of the season. Verstappen was the fastest on Friday afternoon followed by Bottas. McLaren's new Mercedes engine seems to be working well, as Lando Norris was a standout number three in FP1.

Lewis Hamilton finished in fourth position and Charles Leclerc was the fastest of the two Ferraris in fifth. The Aston Martin's and Alpine's don't seem to be doing as well. The two teams are close behind and only appear in the second half of the timesheet.

Haas and Williams at the bottom of the grid

Alfa Romeo seem to have made a good jump this winter and are trying to climb out of the bottom region of the grid. Antonio Giovinazzi set the tenth fastest time and Kimi Raikkonen, eleventh. At the bottom, we see Haas F1, with the two cars from Williams just above them.