2024 Bahrain F1 test: Verstappen heads first day by 1.1s from Norris.
Verstappen used the much-improved conditions during the final half hour to knock another three tenths off and seal the top spot with a 1m31.344s lap, a second and a half faster than he was during the same session last winter.
Feb 21, 2024, 4:05 PM
Filip Cleeren
Motorsport.com

The three-time world champion set the pace in the morning session and stayed on board for the remainder of the day, reclaiming the lead from McLaren's Lando Norris around the halfway mark with a lap of 1m31.662s on Pirelli's yellow-marked C3 tyres.

Norris stayed second after a much-improved opening session of the new season compared to McLaren's backfoot start last year. After taking over from team-mate Oscar Piastri, the Briton clocked 72 laps to finish 1.1s behind Verstappen with a 1m32.484s that had briefly yielded the lead.

RB's Daniel Ricciardo produced just 48 laps, but his best effort was good enough for fourth, a mere 0.015s behind Sainz. Fellow afternoon runners Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) and Pierre Gasly (Alpine) were next up in fifth and sixth respectively, followed by the second Ferrari of Charles Leclerc, who was the fastest of the morning runners behind Verstappen.

‘Verstappen heads first day by 1.1s’;

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/2...rris/10578335/


Verstappen puts Red Bull over a second ahead of rivals on first day of testing
21st February 2024, 16:28
Written by Will Wood
RaceFans

Max Verstappen picked up where he left off last year by putting his Red Bull on top of the times by over a second on the first day of testing.

Pos. Car number Driver Team Model Best time Gap Laps

1 1 Max Verstappen Red Bull RB20 1’31.344 143

2 4 Lando Norris McLaren MCL38 1’32.484 1.140 72

3 55 Carlos Sainz Jnr Ferrari SF-24 1’32.584 1.240 69

4 3 Daniel Ricciardo RB RB01 1’32.599 1.255 52

5 10 Pierre Gasly Alpine A524 1’32.805 1.461 60

6 18 Lance Stroll Aston Martin AMR24 1’33.007 1.663 54

7 16 Charles Leclerc Ferrari SF-24 1’33.247 1.903 64

8 14 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin AMR24 1’33.385 2.041 77

9 81 Oscar Piastri McLaren MCL38 1’33.658 2.314 57

10 24 Zhou Guanyu Sauber C44 1’33.871 2.527 62

'2024 Formula 1 Bahrain testing – Day One complete times';

https://www.racefans.net/2024/02/21/...ay-of-testing/


Verstappen boasts immense gap after opening Bahrain F1 test
21 February 5:01PM
Author Fergal Walsh
RacingNews365

Max Verstappen has ended the first pre-season test day on top of the timesheets. The three-time World Champion set a 1:31.344 in the final half hour of the session equipped with the C3 compound. Verstappen also set the most number of laps by a single driver with 143 to his name, ensuring he got his 10th season in F1 off to a strong start as he chases a fourth title.

‘Top of the timesheets’;

https://racingnews365.com/verstappen...ahrain-f1-test


Verstappen dominates the timesheets on opening day of F1 testing
Red Bull Racing look the class of the field again heading into 2024
Published 21st Feb 2024, 16:02 GMT
By Toby Lock
Milton Keynes Citizen

The Dutchman put the first miles in the new RB20, designed and built in Tilbrook, in the Sakhir desert, completing more than 140 laps in the car as he took testing duties for the opening day. The only other driver in triple figures for laps was George Russell in the Mercedes, but all the other teams swapped drivers at the lunch break.

‘Verstappen dominates’;

https://www.miltonkeynes.co.uk/sport...esting-4528074


F1 2024 Pre-season testing day one results
A precious first taste of relative performances of all ten teams will be revealed on the first day of testing at the Bahrain International Circuit
February 21, 2024
James Fiorucci
FormulaNerds

After eight hours of intensive on-track testing by all teams, it was the Red Bull of Max Verstappen that set the fastest lap of the day.

Summary: Red Bull and Max Verstappen dominated the first day of pre-season testing at the Bahrain International Circuit, ending the two combined sessions with a time over a second faster than the McLaren of Lando Norris.

The three-time World Champion also clocked the highest number of laps of all 18 drivers on track over the day, with a total of 143 laps. George Russell managed 122 laps in his Mercedes W15, while Nico Hulkenberg managed the third most laps with 82.

‘Day one results’;

https://www.formulanerds.com/news/f1...sting-day-one/


Max Verstappen commands first day of F1 2024 pre-season testing
Max Verstappen continued where he left off last year by dominating the first day of track action in F1 2024.
21 Feb 2024
Lewis Larkam
Crash.Net

Max Verstappen produced an ominous display of pace to take command of the opening day of F1 pre-season testing in Bahrain. While lap times in testing should always be treated with caution given the many variables and unknowns at play, Verstappen nevertheless laid down an impressive marker in his revamped Red Bull.

The RB20 attracted plenty of attention as it finally broke cover in Bahrain after Red Bull launched a drastic evolution of their dominant 2023 challenger. Verstappen didn’t look completely at one with his RB20 but appeared to dial out some early handling issues as the day progressed, setting his benchmark pace on the C3 compound in the final hour of running when conditions were at their best.

‘Ominous display of pace to take command’;

https://www.crash.net/f1/news/104444...season-testing