Follow the live coverage of the Bahrain F1 pre-season tests: Day 1

Local time.

9:00 am: The drivers are all gathered on the starting grid with one of their race cars to shoot the opening credits for the 2023 season.

9:50am: For this first day of testing, here are the planned drivers:

– Verstappen – Red Bull

– Sainz – Ferrari

– Russell – Mercedes

– Gasly (Matin), Ocon (après-midi) – Alpine

– Piastri – McLaren

– Zhou – Alfa Roméo

– Drugovich – Aston Martin

– Hülkenberg – Haas

– Tsunoda – AlphaTauri

– Albon – Williams

10:00: Start of the testing. It is 24°C in Sakhir and 34°C on the track. Some wind, resulting in a bit of sand on the track. Several single-seaters are launching with their pitot probe in front of the pontoon entrances.

10:08 am: 🟥 First red flag – it’s Felipe Drugovich’s Aston Martin replacing the injured Lance Stroll, which broke down at the edge of the track. The F1 car needs to be towed away.

10:30 AM: 🟢 Green flag. 7 drivers take the track directly.

10:34: 5 drivers have a time. Verstappen (Red Bull) is the fastest with 1:35.655, 1.4 seconds ahead of Hülkenberg (Haas).

11:16 AM: Still a lot of activity on the track. This season, only three days of testing to prepare for the 2023 season, no more. Therefore, teams must optimize to the maximum. Many aerodynamic tests are conducted with Pitot probes in front of the side pods and behind the diffuser to verify that the fluid mechanics and wind tunnel engineers obtain consistent data on the track. Teams also extensively use Flowviz, a viscous fluid that allows them to track the actual aerodynamic flow once on the track.

10h06 Classement #F1Testing pic.twitter.com/Ons5Gl2saY

— Motors Inside F1 (@MotorsInside) February 23, 2023

12:58: The standings after three hours. No new red flags. Reliability seems to be on point, even though McLaren took to the track last.

Classement à 11h #F1Testing pic.twitter.com/ce6ZchXm9Z

— Motors Inside F1 (@MotorsInside) February 23, 2023

14:00: The ranking at halftime

3:00 pm: Reliability is meeting expectations. However, teams sometimes make long pit stops in the garage, especially Aston Martin and Alfa Romeo, who had to remove the engine hood. Alpine as well. Nevertheless, there are no issues on the track.

5:30 pm: The sunset rankings:

Le classement à 15h30 #F1Testing pic.twitter.com/WHip25aodV

— Motors Inside F1 (@MotorsInside) February 23, 2023

After reaching up to 40 degrees, the track dips back down to below 30 degrees at sunset. Ideal for long runs. Therefore, drivers go out for longer relays of at least 6-10 laps.

Max Verstappen has already completed more than 115 laps…

Our observations on straight lines show that some race cars are much lower than others and generate more sparks. This is the case with the Red Bull and the Williams in particular, two race cars at the top of the standings. Other teams do not seem ready yet to unleash their maximum speed with the Alpine or the Ferrari, which do not touch the ground flat much.

18:45: Ranking with 45 minutes remaining.

Classements à 20 min de la fin de journée #F1Testing pic.twitter.com/mtEqxRD9No

— Motors Inside F1 (@MotorsInside) February 23, 2023

19:30: End of this intense first day of training