Norris fastest on first day of Bahrain test but Red Bull impress rivals

Sakhir, Bahrain – Lando Norris underlined McLaren’s winter momentum by going quickest on the opening day of Formula 1’s second pre-season test at the Bahrain International Circuit, yet the story that reverberated through the paddock was the ominous speed and reliability of Max Verstappen’s new-look Red Bull.

The world champion, running Red Bull’s first in-house power unit since 2005, logged 136 laps and spent long swathes of the afternoon cranking out consistent high-tempo runs that left rival engineers reaching for their calculators. Verstappen’s best of 1:34.798s stood atop the screens until Norris, on a late qualifying-style simulation, delivered a 1:34.669s to edge the Dutchman by 0.129s with 70 minutes left on the clock.

While headline times in February rarely reveal the full competitive order, the energy profile of the RB20’s hybrid system caught the attention of every major team principal. Mercedes’ Toto Wolff admitted the energy deployment advantage down Bahrain’s straights looked “worth a second per lap” over ten consecutive tours, adding: “They have set the benchmark today.” Williams boss James Vowles quantified the straight-line gain at “six tenths, consistently into Turn 1”, praising Red Bull for marrying a brand-new engine programme to instant reliability.

Behind the top two, Charles Leclerc gave Ferrari third place, half a second adrift, but the scarlet car again looked a handful as Lewis Hamilton’s morning spin demonstrated. George Russell was Mercedes’ pace-setter in sixth, 1.5s off Norris, while team-mate Kimi Antonelli spent much of the second session in the garage before salvaging 11th late on.

The day was punctuated by two brief red flags: Franco Colapinto’s Alpine ground to a halt in the morning and Nico Hulkenberg’s Audi stopped in the afternoon, though both drivers soon rejoined. Williams, having missed Barcelona entirely, banked the most mileage of anyone – 145 laps shared between Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon – to lay down an early marker for resilience. At the other end of the scale, Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll managed only 36 laps after a power-unit glitch left him 5.2s off the pace.

Cadillac, F1’s newest constructor, continued its methodical build-up as Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez shared 107 trouble-free tours, while the rest of the field turned their attention to correlation runs and cooling checks ahead of next week’s final three-day test, again in Bahrain, from 18-20 February.

With Melbourne’s season-opener still three weeks away, teams remain guarded about true performance. McLaren CEO Zak Brown cautioned: “If I had to bet in Vegas, the big four still look like the big four – but in what order, your guess is as good as mine.” Yet after one day in the desert, Red Bull have already issued a compelling statement that their new power unit is no pre-season smokescreen.

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