Lando Norris set the pace on the opening day of pre-season testing at the Bahrain International Circuit, securing the fastest time during an afternoon session that was extended due to a red flag. The McLaren driver’s lap of 1m 30.430s put him 0.157s ahead of teammate Lando Russell.
The session got underway with Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli leading the way in the morning session, but Norris took the top spot after an extra hour was added to the afternoon session due to a power cut. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc also posted a quick time, going second on 1m 30.878s.
Other notable performances included Russell taking second place and Verstappen following in third. The session was marked by rain and cool conditions towards the end, with drivers making the most of the extended running to gauge conditions representative of those for the Bahrain Grand Prix in April.
The top 10 times were: Norris (1m 30.430s), Russell (1m 30.587s), Verstappen (1m 30.684s), Leclerc (1m 30.878s), Sainz (1m 31.051s).
Source: https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/norris-sets-the-pace-as-first-day-of-pre-season-testing-in-bahrain-concludes.a38NkBReUGszqr0WlZNoJ