F1 – Defending champion Norris tops opening day of testing in Bahrain ahead of Verstappen and Leclerc

Defending F1 world champion Lando Norris went quickest on the opening day of official pre-season testing in Bahrain with the McLaren driver beating 2025 runner-up Max Verstappen by just over a tenth of a second. 

Verstappen went quickest in a morning session dominated by aero testing, with a number of cars running rakes, but after the Dutchman’s pre-lunch break 1:35.433, Norris upped the pace in the afternoon logging a time of 1:34.669. The Briton’s team-mate Oscar Piastri, who drove the MCL40 in the morning took P5 overall with a best time of 1:35.602. 

Verstappen also went quicker in the afternoon, eventually working his way down to a best time of 1m34.798 and the four-time champion ended the session just 0.129s off Norris’ table-topper. The Red Bull driver did manage to outstrip his McLaren rival in one department, however, posting a total of 136 laps of the Bahrain International Circuit compared with a combined total of 112 for Piastri and Norris. 

Charles Leclerc took third place on the day one timesheet with a best time of 1:35.190, just over half a second off Norris.  Leclerc put 80 laps on the Ferrari SF-26, making a total of 132 after Lewis Hamilton chalked up 52 laps in the morning session. The seven-time champion logged a best time of 1:36.433 to finish in P7 overall. 

Fourth place went to Esteban Ocon who posted the second largest total of the day. The Frenchman rattled off 115 laps on the Haas VF-26 and posted a best time of 1:35.578 to finish 0.024s ahead of Piastri. 

George Russell was sixth for Mercedes with a lap of 1:36.108. The Briton’s team-mate Kimi Antonelli, running predominantly on the hard-compound Pirellis, was further back, in 11th and 2.960s off the pace. 

With Hamilton seventh, P8 went to Alpine’s Pierre Gasly with Audi’s Nico Hülkenberg in P9. The top 10 order was completed by Williams’ Albon Williams with a best tome of 1:37.437. The Thai driver also put 68 laps on the FW48 after team-mate Carlos Sainz had completed 77 in the morning – a strong total after the British team opted to miss the recent private shakedown in Barcelona.
The reverse was true for Aston Martin as its AMR26 managed just 36 laps in total. Lance Stroll completed 33 laps in the morning session but added just three more in the afternoon before a “data anomaly” from his Honda power unit caused the team to halt running. 

FIA Formula 1 Pre-Season Test Bahrain 1 – Day 1 
1 Lando Norris McLaren / Mercedes 1:34.669 58
2 Max Verstappen Red Bull / Red Bull Ford 1:34.798 136
3 Charles Leclerc Ferrari / Ferrari 1:35.190 80
4 Esteban Ocon Haas / Ferrari 1:35.578 115
5 Oscar Piastri McLaren / Mercedes 1:35.602 54
6 George Russell Mercedes / Mercedes F1 1:36.108 56 
7 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari / 1:36.433 52
8 Pierre Gasly Alpine / Mercedes 1:36.765 49
9 Nico Hülkenberg Audi / Audi 1:36.861 73
10 Alexander Albon Williams / Mercedes 1:37.437 68 
11 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes / Mercedes 1:37.629 30
12 Arvid Lindblad Racing Bulls / Red Bull Ford 1:37.945 75
13 Carlos Sainz Williams / Mercedes 1:38.221 77
14 Sergio Pérez Cadillac/ Ferrari 1:38.828 58
15 Gabriel Bortoleto Audi / Audi 1:38.871 49
16 Valtteri Bottas Cadillac/ Ferrari 1:39.150 49
17 Lance Stroll Aston Martin / Honda 1:39.883 36
18 Franco Colapinto Alpine / Mercedes 1:40.330 28