What happened on the opening day of F1 2023 pre-season testing

What happened on the opening day of pre-season testing for F1 2023 in Bahrain?

16:55

That concludes Day 1.

We will be back tomorrow morning for more testing action!

16:41
Report

A perfect start for Verstappen...

Max Verstappen (NLD) Red Bull Racing RB19 practices a pit stop. Formula 1 Testing, Sakhir, Bahrain, Day One.-
Max Verstappen (NLD) Red Bull Racing RB19 practices a pit stop. Formula 1…

16:36
Final lap times

Full order one day one...

Circuit atmosphere - F1 logo at night. Formula 1 Testing, Sakhir, Bahrain, Day One.- www.xpbimages.com, EMail:
Circuit atmosphere - F1 logo at night. Formula 1 Testing, Sakhir, Bahrain,…

16:30
Chequered flag

Verstappen on top!

16:29
Back underway

Into the final few minutes. Not much going on in terms of impressive lap times.

16:16
VSC test

Just under 15 minutes on the clock now.

16:14
Norris moves up the order

P5 for the McLaren driver - 0.6s off the pace.

16:08

Another push lap from Alonso but he stays second overall. That lap was 0.2s off Verstappen's best.

Fernando Alonso (ESP) Aston Martin F1 Team AMR23. Formula 1 Testing, Sakhir, Bahrain, Day One. - www.xpbimages.com,
Fernando Alonso (ESP) Aston Martin F1 Team AMR23. Formula 1 Testing,…

16:00
Into the final 30 minutes

Top 10: Verstappen, Alonso, Sainz, Leclerc, Hamilton, Albon, Zhou, Norris, Russell and Sargeant.

(L to R): Christian Horner (GBR) Red Bull Racing Team Principal with Max Verstappen (NLD) Red Bull Racing. Formula 1
(L to R): Christian Horner (GBR) Red Bull Racing Team Principal with Max…

15:52
Watching on...

(L to R): Mick Schumacher (GER) Mercedes AMG F1 Reserve Driver with Toto Wolff (GER) Mercedes AMG F1 Shareholder and
(L to R): Mick Schumacher (GER) Mercedes AMG F1 Reserve Driver with Toto…

15:51

Norris improves but stays eighth, 1.0s off.

Lando Norris (GBR) McLaren MCL60. Formula 1 Testing, Sakhir, Bahrain, Day One. - www.xpbimages.com, EMail:
Lando Norris (GBR) McLaren MCL60. Formula 1 Testing, Sakhir, Bahrain, Day…

15:46
Night-time in Bahrain

Valtteri Bottas (FIN) Alfa Romeo F1 Team C42. Formula 1 Testing, Sakhir, Bahrain, Day One. - www.xpbimages.com, EMail:
Valtteri Bottas (FIN) Alfa Romeo F1 Team C42. Formula 1 Testing, Sakhir,…

15:41
Big time!

Alonso goes second behind Verstappen - 0.029s off.

15:30
Into the final hour

Verstappen remains on top ahead of Sainz, Hamilton, Albon, Zhou, Alonso, Leclerc, Norris, Russell and Sargeant.

Yuki Tsunoda (JPN) AlphaTauri AT04. Formula 1 Testing, Sakhir, Bahrain, Day One.- www.xpbimages.com, EMail:
Yuki Tsunoda (JPN) AlphaTauri AT04. Formula 1 Testing, Sakhir, Bahrain,…

15:25
Sargeant into the top 10

F1 rookie Sargeant moves into ninth in the Williams - he's 1.4s off Verstappen.

15:22
Low light shots

Low light action. Formula 1 Testing, Sakhir, Bahrain, Day One.- www.xpbimages.com, EMail: requests@xpbimages.com ©
Low light action. Formula 1 Testing, Sakhir, Bahrain, Day One.- www…

15:14
A big effort...

126 laps for Verstappen already. Pace and reliability straight out the box for Red Bull.

15:12
Horner on Red Bull's competition

"There’s some interesting concepts. A lot of them have been a variance on a theme, some of them have converged to some of our ideology. But that’s part of the fascination of F1, there’s all these fantastically talented engineers all coming up with these different interpretations.” 

Christian Horner (GBR) Red Bull Racing Team Principal. Formula 1 Testing, Sakhir, Bahrain, Day One. - www.xpbimages.com,
Christian Horner (GBR) Red Bull Racing Team Principal. Formula 1 Testing,…

15:11

Verstappen, Hamilton, Alonso, Leclerc, Russell, de Vries, Magnussen and Norris are circulating currently.

15:04
Latest lap times

The current order heading into the final hour and a half of running on the opening day...

Valtteri Bottas (FIN) Alfa Romeo F1 Team C42. Formula 1 Testing, Sakhir, Bahrain, Day One.- www.xpbimages.com, EMail:
Valtteri Bottas (FIN) Alfa Romeo F1 Team C42. Formula 1 Testing, Sakhir,…

15:04
More sexy Bahrain shots

Esteban Ocon (FRA) Alpine F1 Team A523. Formula 1 Testing, Sakhir, Bahrain, Day One.- www.xpbimages.com, EMail:
Esteban Ocon (FRA) Alpine F1 Team A523. Formula 1 Testing, Sakhir, Bahrain…

14:55
Current top 10

Verstappen, Sainz, Hamilton, Albon, Zhou, Alonso, Leclerc, Russell, Hulkenberg and Bottas.

14:53
Golden hour

Esteban Ocon (FRA) Alpine F1 Team A523. Formula 1 Testing, Sakhir, Bahrain, Day One.- www.xpbimages.com, EMail:
Esteban Ocon (FRA) Alpine F1 Team A523. Formula 1 Testing, Sakhir, Bahrain…

14:48
14:33

Subscribe to our F1 Newsletter

Get the latest F1 news, exclusives, interviews and promotions from the paddock direct to your inbox