Sakhir, Bahrain — Lando Norris set the pace at the Formula 1 pre-season testing on Saturday, clocking the fastest lap of 1 minute, 33.453 seconds. The McLaren driver edged out two-time world champion Max Verstappen of Red Bull by a margin of just 0.131 seconds during the morning session, marking a promising start for the team.
Norris’s time on the C3 compound tires topped the charts, surpassing George Russell’s earlier best by a narrow 0.006 seconds. As teams shifted their focus to race simulations, head-to-head comparisons in lap times became less common in the latter part of the session. Despite this, Norris’s skill was evident as he consistently maintained his pace, finishing the morning with 72 laps under his belt.
Ferrari drew initial attention with the debut of an innovative rear wing that rotates 180 degrees, a design made possible by the new rules governing active aerodynamics. However, any enthusiasm was dampened when Lewis Hamilton encountered a chassis issue that limited his laps to just five. Hamilton did manage to return for the last few minutes of the session to participate in crucial system checks.
With most teams prioritizing long runs, George Russell secured third place for Mercedes with a solid 77 laps, showcasing a relatively trouble-free outing. Alex Albon of Williams also made a notable impression, finishing fourth with 71 laps completed.
Unfortunately, the Audi team faced its hurdles as Gabriel Bortoleto dealt with hydraulic issues that kept him limited to 29 laps. Despite this setback, he managed to finish fifth before rejoining track action later in the session. Oliver Bearman for Haas and Franco Colapinto for Alpine filled the sixth and seventh spots, respectively.
Liam Lawson struggled with reliability himself for Racing Bulls, completing only 27 laps, which placed him eighth. Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin finished ninth, coming in four seconds behind the fastest time, while Hamilton rounded out the top ten following his earlier technical difficulties.
The session ended with Valtteri Bottas of Cadillac completing the field after missing much of the action due to his own technical issues. Still, he managed to log 58 laps, demonstrating resilience despite the limitations of his session.
As the teams continue to test their strategies and performance, anticipation builds for the upcoming season, with eyes on how these early insights may impact the competition ahead.