{"id":420102,"date":"2026-02-11T15:24:53","date_gmt":"2026-02-11T15:24:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/420102\/"},"modified":"2026-02-11T15:24:53","modified_gmt":"2026-02-11T15:24:53","slug":"max-verstappen-tops-opening-morning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/420102\/","title":{"rendered":"Max Verstappen tops opening morning"},"content":{"rendered":"

Red Bull\u2019s Max Verstappen<\/a> set the fastest time of Wednesday\u2019s morning session in Formula 1\u2019s Bahrain pre-season test.<\/p>\n

Shortly before 12pm local time \u2013 with the test\u2019s opening session taking place from 10am to 2pm \u2013 Verstappen set a 1m35.433s on soft tyres for Red Bull.<\/p>\n

As F1 switches to new technical regulations, this time is five-and-a-half seconds slower than Oscar Piastri<\/a>\u2019s 2025 pole position, a 1m29.841s.<\/p>\n

As it happened, Piastri took second place, just 0.169s away from Verstappen, in McLaren<\/a>\u2019s newly liveried MCL40.<\/p>\n

Mercedes<\/a>\u2019 George Russell<\/a> was third in 1m36.108s, with Lewis Hamilton<\/a> in fourth, exactly one second slower than Verstappen. The Ferrari<\/a> driver had a harmless spin in Turn 1.<\/p>\n

\"Lewis <\/p>\n

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari<\/p>\n

Photo by: Joe Portlock \/ LAT Images via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Esteban Ocon<\/a> made up the top five for Haas, with a 1m37.169s. Teams weren\u2019t seeking performance just yet, which explains the large gaps between cars.<\/p>\n

Sixth- and seventh-placed Arvid Lindblad<\/a> and Carlos Sainz<\/a> covered more ground than anyone for Racing Bulls<\/a> and Williams<\/a>, with 75 and 77 laps respectively. This is a welcome boost for Williams, which had to skip the Barcelona shakedown two weeks ago due to delays in its new challenger\u2019s production.<\/p>\n

Gabriel Bortoleto<\/a> took eighth position in a revamped Audi<\/a> R26 featuring radical new sidepods, which you can read more about here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Cadillac\u2019s Valtteri Bottas<\/a> and Aston Martin\u2019s Lance Stroll<\/a> were ninth and 10th \u2013 another two cars whose liveries were recently revealed, with Adrian Newey\u2019s new creation running bare at Barcelona due to its late arrival.<\/p>\n

Alpine<\/a>\u2019s A526 caused the only red flag of the day when Franco Colapinto<\/a> stopped on track. It\u2019s 11th and last in 1m40.330s, with the lowest lap count of all \u2013 28.<\/p>\n

Read Also:<\/p>\n

F1 Bahrain pre-season test Day 1 morning results<\/p>\n

P
\nDriver
\nTeam
\nLaps
\nTime
\nGap<\/p>\n

1
\nMax Verstappen
\nRed Bull
\n65
\n1m35.433s
\n\u00a0<\/p>\n

2
\nOscar Piastri
\nMcLaren<\/a>
\n54
\n1m35.602s
\n+0.169s<\/p>\n

3
\nGeorge Russell
\nMercedes<\/a>
\n56
\n1m36.108s
\n+0.675s<\/p>\n

4
\nLewis Hamilton
\nFerrari<\/a>
\n52
\n1m36.433s
\n+1.000s<\/p>\n

5
\nEsteban Ocon
\nHaas<\/a>
\n64
\n1m37.169s
\n+1.736s<\/p>\n

6
\nArvid Lindblad
\nRacing Bulls
\n75
\n1m37.945s
\n+2.512s<\/p>\n

7
\nCarlos Sainz
\nWilliams
\n77
\n1m38.221s
\n+2.788s<\/p>\n

8
\nGabriel Bortoleto
\nAudi
\n49
\n1m38.871s
\n+3.438s<\/p>\n

9
\nValtteri Bottas
\nCadillac
\n49
\n1m39.150s
\n+3.717s<\/p>\n

10
\nLance Stroll
\nAston Martin
\n33
\n1m39.883s
\n+4.450s<\/p>\n

11
\nFranco Colapinto
\nAlpine<\/a>
\n28
\n1m40.330s
\n+4.897s<\/p>\n

Photos from Bahrain Pre-Season Testing<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"George<\/p>\n


\n
\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing, in photos
\n
\n <\/a>
\n <\/p>\n

\"Lando<\/p>\n


\n
\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing, in photos
\n
\n <\/a>
\n <\/p>\n

\"Valtteri<\/p>\n


\n
\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing, in photos
\n
\n <\/a>
\n <\/p>\n

\"Valtteri<\/p>\n


\n
\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing, in photos
\n
\n <\/a>
\n <\/p>\n

\"Gabriel<\/p>\n


\n
\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing, in photos
\n
\n <\/a>
\n <\/p>\n

\"Esteban<\/p>\n


\n
\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing, in photos
\n
\n <\/a>
\n <\/p>\n

\"Oscar<\/p>\n


\n
\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing, in photos
\n
\n <\/a>
\n <\/p>\n

\"George<\/p>\n


\n
\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing, in photos
\n
\n <\/a>
\n <\/p>\n

\"Arvid<\/p>\n


\n
\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing, in photos
\n
\n <\/a>
\n <\/p>\n

\"Carlos<\/p>\n


\n
\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing, in photos
\n
\n <\/a>
\n <\/p>\n

\"Isack<\/p>\n


\n
\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing, in photos
\n
\n <\/a>
\n <\/p>\n

\"Gabriel<\/p>\n


\n
\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing, in photos
\n
\n <\/a>
\n <\/p>\n

\"Franco<\/p>\n


\n
\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing, in photos
\n
\n <\/a>
\n <\/p>\n

\"Oscar<\/p>\n


\n
\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing, in photos
\n
\n <\/a>
\n <\/p>\n

\"Max<\/p>\n


\n
\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing, in photos
\n
\n <\/a>
\n <\/p>\n

\"Oscar<\/p>\n


\n
\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing, in photos
\n
\n <\/a>
\n <\/p>\n

\"Lando<\/p>\n


\n
\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing, in photos
\n
\n <\/a>
\n <\/p>\n

\"Andrea<\/p>\n


\n
\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing, in photos
\n
\n <\/a>
\n <\/p>\n

\"Lewis<\/p>\n


\n
\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing, in photos
\n
\n <\/a>
\n <\/p>\n

\"Lance<\/p>\n


\n
\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing, in photos
\n
\n <\/a>
\n <\/p>\n

\"Lewis<\/p>\n


\n
\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing, in photos
\n
\n <\/a>
\n <\/p>\n

\"Carlos<\/p>\n


\n
\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing, in photos
\n
\n <\/a>
\n <\/p>\n

\"Oscar<\/p>\n


\n
\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing, in photos
\n
\n <\/a>
\n <\/p>\n

\"Gabriel<\/p>\n


\n
\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing, in photos
\n
\n <\/a>
\n <\/p>\n

\"Sergio<\/p>\n


\n
\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing, in photos
\n
\n <\/a>
\n <\/p>\n

\"Max<\/p>\n


\n
\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing, in photos
\n
\n <\/a>
\n <\/p>\n

\"Fernando<\/p>\n


\n
\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing, in photos
\n
\n <\/a>
\n <\/p>\n

\"Pierre<\/p>\n


\n
\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing, in photos
\n
\n <\/a>
\n <\/p>\n

\"Lewis<\/p>\n


\n
\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing, in photos
\n
\n <\/a>
\n <\/p>\n

\"Lance<\/p>\n


\n
\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing, in photos
\n
\n <\/a>
\n <\/p>\n

\"Carlos<\/p>\n


\n
\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing, in photos
\n
\n <\/a>
\n <\/p>\n

\"Lewis<\/p>\n


\n
\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing, in photos
\n
\n <\/a>
\n <\/p>\n

\"Franco<\/p>\n


\n
\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing, in photos
\n
\n <\/a>
\n <\/p>\n

\"Esteban<\/p>\n


\n
\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing, in photos
\n
\n <\/a>
\n <\/p>\n

\"Fernando<\/p>\n


\n
\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing, in photos
\n
\n <\/a>
\n <\/p>\n

\"Lewis<\/p>\n


\n
\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing, in photos
\n
\n <\/a>
\n <\/p>\n

\"Gabriel<\/p>\n


\n
\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing, in photos
\n
\n <\/a>
\n <\/p>\n

\"Max<\/p>\n


\n
\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing, in photos
\n
\n <\/a>
\n <\/p>\n

\"Valtteri<\/p>\n


\n
\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing, in photos
\n
\n <\/a>
\n <\/p>\n

\"Oliver<\/p>\n


\n
\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing, in photos
\n
\n <\/a>
\n <\/p>\n

\"Sergio<\/p>\n


\n
\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing, in photos
\n
\n <\/a>
\n <\/p>\n

\"George<\/p>\n


\n
\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing, in photos
\n
\n <\/a>
\n <\/p>\n

\"Valtteri<\/p>\n


\n
\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing, in photos
\n
\n <\/a>
\n <\/p>\n

\"Nico<\/p>\n


\n
\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing, in photos
\n
\n <\/a>
\n <\/p>\n

\"Pierre<\/p>\n


\n
\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing, in photos
\n
\n <\/a>
\n <\/p>\n

\"Lando<\/p>\n


\n
\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing, in photos
\n
\n <\/a>
\n <\/p>\n

\"Charles<\/p>\n


\n
\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing, in photos
\n
\n <\/a>
\n <\/p>\n

\"Nico<\/p>\n


\n
\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing, in photos
\n
\n <\/a>
\n <\/p>\n

\"Sergio<\/p>\n


\n
\n Bahrain Pre-Season Testing, in photos
\n
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Take our 5 minute survey.<\/a><\/p>\n

– The Motorsport.com Team<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Red Bull\u2019s Max Verstappen set the fastest time of Wednesday\u2019s morning session in Formula 1\u2019s Bahrain pre-season test.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":420103,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[105099,154870,154910,372,59,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-420102","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-bahrain-international-circuit","tag-bahrain-pre-season-testing","tag-f1-bahrain-pre-season-test-max-verstappen-tops-opening-morning","tag-formula-1","tag-gb","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/420102","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=420102"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/420102\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/420103"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=420102"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=420102"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=420102"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}