Verstappen is in Front of Sainz on Day 1 in Bahrain

Red Bull Set The Fastest Time!

Testing began on the February 23 at 7:00 GMT (10:00 local time) and lasts through to the Saturday the 26th. The testing races run from 10:00 until 14:15 and from 15:15 until 19:30 (all local time) on each of the three days, with a pause for lunch in between.

The Bahrain pre-season test, the only pre-season test before the 2023 season, features all 10 teams.

On the first morning of preseason testing in 2023, Red Bull's Max Verstappen set the fastest time, followed by Ferrari's Carlos Sainz. Aston Martin were hampered by a reliability problem, not a great start for them.

Ten minutes into the practise, Felipe Drugovich, who was filling in for regular driver Lance Stroll, came to a stop due to an electrical problem with his Aston Martin AMR23. The session resumed after a 25-minute break, and Drugovich finally made a comeback, finishing seventh with a late effort.

With 40 minutes left in the race, Verstappen, the defending champion, recorded the fastest time in the morning of 1 minute, 32.959 seconds, surpassing Sainz by three tenths of a second.

Alfa Romeo's Zhou Guanyu, who started testing at 1000 local time on Thursday and finished fourth, had a trouble-free stint. He finished clear of Mercedes' George Russell.

In the pit lane, Haas unveiled their VF-23 before Nico Hulkenberg grabbed the wheel. The team's F1 veteran placed sixth overall in the morning.

The F1 Teams are so far generally driving well and the cars are ok, with the exception of Felipe Drugovich's Aston Martin's early red signal brought on by an electronics issue.

For AlphaTauri, Yuki Tsunoda came in eighth place in the morning clear of former teammate Pierre Gasly, who came in ninth in his Alpine. For McLaren, rookie Oscar Piastri came in tenth.

Following a one-hour break, testing resumes until 1930 local time, with drivers like Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso, and Lando Norris stepping into their various vehicles.

Only early doors, but starting to look like another interesting season awaits.

It finally ended in the evening of day 1 with 157 laps completed in both sessions, Max Verstappen leads the first day of F1 pre-season training for Red Bull.

Fernando Alonso, the closest rival, falls short with his Aston Martin by 0.029s, while Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc, drivers of Ferrari, finish third and fourth, respectively.

Here is the leaderboard:

Verstappen, Red Bull, 1m32.837s - 157 laps
Alonso, Aston Martin, 1m32.866s - 60 laps
Sainz, Ferrari, 1m33.253s - 72 laps
Leclerc, Ferrari, 1m33.257s - 64 laps
Norris, McLaren, 1m33.462s - 40 laps
Hamilton, Mercedes, 1m33.508s - 83 laps
Albon, Williams, 1m33.671s - 74 laps
Zhou, Alfa Romeo, 1m33.723s - 67 laps
Russell, Mercedes, 1m34.174s - 69 laps
Sargeant, Williams, 1m34.324s - 75 laps
Hulkenberg, Haas, 1m34.424s - 51 laps
Bottas, Alfa Romeo, 1m34.558s - 71 laps
De Vries, AlphaTauri, 1m34.559s - 85 laps
Drugovich, Aston Martin, 1m34.564s - 40 laps
Tsunoda, AlphaTauri, 1m34.671s - 46 laps
Gasly, Alpine, 1m34.822s - 60 laps
Ocon, Alpine, 1m34.871s - 53 laps
Piastri, McLaren, 1m34.888s - 52 laps
Magnussen, Haas, 1m35.087s - 57 laps