Test report | Red Bull send scary warning to F1 teams on Day 1 in Bahrain

Max Verstappen and Red Bull Racing have sent a warning shot to their Formula 1 rivals after producing a very quick lap time. Day 1 of pre-season testing has concluded in Bahrain, with Red Bull having a 1.1-second lead over McLaren. Verstappen managed to go around 1.5 seconds faster than he managed to on day one last year. 

Domination to continue?

It's only day one of testing, and the usual caveats apply. But teams who were trying to close the gap on Red Bull will surely be disheartened after the first day of testing. Red Bull came out of the garage with a brand-new three-part cooling system. That allows them to run a similar 'zeropod' to what Mercedes tried in 2022. Though it seems to be working well for Verstappen. The Dutchman recorded more than 140 laps, well over two Grand Prix distances in Bahrain. 

Verstappen did try a softer tyre compared to his rivals, but it's not usually a common story for the top team to push so hard on the first day of testing. As the end of 2023 suggested, McLaren and Ferrari are best placed to follow Red Bull with Norris and Sainz in P2 and P3. There were no major performance runs.

It was a relatively uneventful day of testing in terms of mistakes and incidents. There were zero red flags during the eight hours of testing. Though plenty of lock-ups were made, particularly at the challenging turn 10. It wasn't the easiest of days for Williams. In the morning, Alex Albon stopped out on track, and Logan Sargeant had a spin. They ended with a driveshaft issue. 

McLaren also had a quiet start, but the team told GPblog they were "just working through our run plan". Piastri ended up recording 57 laps. There were no red flag stoppages during the four hours of testing, though he did look likely when Alex Albon stopped out on the track. He was running down the home straight when the engine switched off. Albon tried to restart the car but eventually had to get pushed away.

McLaren look like the closest challengers

The difference with Norris was 1.140 seconds. The McLaren driver could nevertheless be satisfied after a difficult start to his session. The Briton took over the wheel of the McLaren from Oscar Piastri but initially had to wait a long time before he could take to the track. They were busy tinkering with the underside of his car and eventually Norris was able to enter the track.

Behind Norris, it was all very close, with the performance of the Visa Cash App RB (VCARB) standing out in particular. Daniel Ricciardo, with a car clearly based on the Red Bull, set a handsome fourth fastest time, just over a tenth from Norris.

The biggest disappointment on the opening day was Mercedes. The German team have changed the concept (again), but so far, in Bahrain, they have yet seen the desired result. Of course, there is no way of knowing the Mercedes run plan.