The first test day of the winter test in Bahrain is over. It has been a great day for Red Bull Racing and Max Verstappen. They were able to drive a lot and were the fastest at the end of the session, while Mercedes again had big problems.

After a difficult morning, in which Bottas barely had time to drive, it took Lewis Hamilton almost an hour to get on track in the afternoon. He was greeted, like the other drivers, by a real sandstorm, which obscured the view of the cameras.

During the first few hours of the afternoon session, the sand made the track relatively quiet. The conditions were even compared to rain in some places. In combination with the strong wind, this made for a tricky situation. This was clearly visible at the exit of the corners, where drivers were very late getting on the gas.

Verstappen fast

McLaren were again fast in the first phase with Lando Norris, but after an hour and a half Max Verstappen took over. He kept the lead for the rest of the afternoon and even improved his time to a 1:30.674. He drove that time on the medium tyre and was almost a second quicker than Esteban Ocon, who had set the second fastest time on the soft tyre.

Towards the end of the session more drivers started to put in a fast lap. Esteban Ocon came within half a second of the Dutchman and Lando Norris even within two tenths. They both did so on the medium tyre. Red Bull isn't absolutely dominant yet, but they have started their season a lot better than competitor Mercedes.