Introducing the latest results from the first day of testing for the 2024 season, broadcast live from the Bahrain International Circuit.
After a long winter filled with off-track intrigue, 2024 Formula 1 returned to life on Wednesday as 10 teams headed to the Bahrain International Circuit to begin three days of pre-season testing.
Each team is allowed to run one car on the track, with driving duties set to be split over three days between two racing drivers.
F1 Test Results – Bahrain (Day 1)
At 10am local time in Bahrain, most of the 10 cars lined up at the end of the pit lane and took to the track to begin the test program.
It was a normal morning run with no major breakdowns or incidents until Alex Albon was forced to end the morning session a little early due to reliability issues.
Despite a shaky start in the RB20, Max Verstappen set the morning's top time with a time of 1 minute 32.548 seconds. Windy conditions around the circuit proved to be difficult for the Dutch driver to handle the car.
Behind Verstappen, Charles Leclerc was second, seven tenths behind Red Bull, and Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso was third.
McLaren's Oscar Piastri proved fast in his VCRB01 right out of the box early in the morning, taking fourth place ahead of the impressive Yuki Tsunoda.
Most teams improved their times in the morning, but one notable absentee for much of the session was Mercedes' George Russell. After completing just 19 laps in the first three hours, Russell doubled his number of laps and added more in the final hour before the lunch break.
In the afternoon, Leclerc handed over his Ferrari to Carlos Sainz, Esteban Ocon left the Alpine and handed over to Pierre Gasly, Daniel Ricciardo took over the RB from Tsunoda, and in the afternoon at Haas, Kevin Magnussen was replaced by Niko. Hulkenberg took part.
After an hour of the afternoon session, the leading times remained unchanged, with Sainz, Hulkenberg, Ricciardo and Gasly recording their first laps of the day.
F1 2024 Test Live: Follow all the latest updates from Bahrain day one
- 1 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing 1:32.548 71
- 2 Charles Leclerc Ferrari +0.699 64
- 3 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin +0.837 77
- 4 Oscar Piastri McLaren +1.110 57
- 5 Hiroki Tsunoda RB+1.588 64
- 6 George Russell Mercedes +1.682 53
- 7 Valtteri Bottas Kick Sauber +1.883 68
- 8 Alexander Albon Williams +2.039 40
- 9 Esteban OCON Alpen +2.129 60
- 10 Kevin Magnussen Haas F1 Team +3.144 66
- 11 Carlos Sainz Ferrari +4.461 12
- 12. Pierre Gasly ALPINE 3
- Nico Hulkenberg Haas 2
- Daniel Ricardo RB 2
Read next: F1 2024 Test: What is the test driver line-up for each team in Bahrain?
