Max Verstappen set the best time on Thursday on the first day of Formula 1 winter testing at the Sakhir Circuit in Bahrain.
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The defending champion completed his best lap in 1 minute, 32.837 seconds ahead of Fernando Alonso (1:32.866 seconds), who performed well in his first official laps at the wheel of the Aston Martin.
Carlos Sainz and his Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc followed in turn. Lando Norris completed the top 5 aboard his McLaren.
The top five in the table achieved their best times aboard single-seaters with tires (C3), Pirelli’s softest.
Stroll injured wrist
It was a wrist injury that forced Lance Stroll to withdraw from the three days of preparatory testing ahead of the first event of the season, to be held in Bahrain next week.
The Montreal rider was injured while training on his bike in southern Spain a few days ago.
“As a precaution, we decided to wait a little longer before we entrusted his car to him,” the Aston Martin team boss is quoted as saying by his colleagues on motorsport.com.
It remains to be seen whether his health will improve enough for him to compete in the first stage of the season on March 5 in Bahrain.
“I don’t want to go into details because it’s his personal life,” Mike Krack continued.
Breakdowns for Aston Martin
Brazilian Felipe Drugovick, Stroll’s temporary backup driver, set the 14th fastest time, not without suffering a power failure early in the session.
Alonso also struggled in his takeover after mechanics slightly damaged the floor of his car during a simulated pit stop. Nevertheless, the two-time world champion was able to return to the track after the usual repairs.
A total of 19 drivers drove in Bahrain. Sergio Pérez is the only one of the 20 reported this year who was limited to a spectator role on Thursday.
The Red Bull team preferred their teammate for the whole day. This explains why Verstappen has completed the most laps (157), which is two and a half times the distance of the Bahrain Grand Prix.
Each team only has one single-seater, so the two drivers will have to share the wheel for the duration of winter testing.