World championship leader Lando Norris set the early pace for McLaren in a sweltering Practice One session at the Bahrain Grand Prix, as Ferrari debuted a car upgrade they hope will get them back into front-running contention.
In an opening hour of running which saw six full-time stars – including Red Bull’s Max Verstappen – sit out the session so their teams could give mandatory in-season track time to inexperienced drivers, the field had to grapple with their cars in the hottest conditions seen so far this season with track temperatures approaching 50 degrees Celsius.
First practice in Bahrain is always relatively unrepresentative given it takes place in daylight conditions whereas Practice Two, Qualifying and the Grand Prix itself are staged under floodlights once the sun has gone down.
But while the final P1 timesheet therefore had a different look to normal, Norris still set the pace for McLaren once the field switched to the soft-compound tyres with a best lap of 1:33.204.
Pierre Gasly, whose Alpine team are the only ones yet to score a point so far this season, was second and two tenths of a second away from Norris.
Lewis Hamilton was third, although almost 0.6s back, in a Ferrari car which featured six different upgrades as the Scuderia chase a step forward in performance.
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Sky Sports Formula 1 reporter Ted Kravitz talks through the big upgrades Ferrari have taken ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix
Four of those new parts were focused on the SF-25’s floor, which Ferrari clearly chasing crucial extra downforce to close the gap to the front. The car also ran with changes to its rear wing and diffuser.
“This is a significant upgrade and one Ferrari hope will transform their season and get them back to winning ways,” said Sky Sports F1’s Ted Kravitz.
Amid an early struggle for grip in the heat on a ‘green’ track, Hamilton was heard over Ferrari team radio bemoaning his car’s lack of balance, while other drivers also voiced similar complaints too.
Alex Albon was fourth for Williams although faces a post-session stewards’ investigation after a high-speed near miss with the team’s sister car, which was driven by Britain’s 23-year-old Luke Browning standing in for Carlos Sainz.
Browning came up fast behind Albon on a timed lap at Turn 13 and had to partially take to the sand in the run-off area to avoid hitting the team’s more-experienced driver.
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Williams’ Alex Albon is involved in two near misses in practice one of the Bahrain Grand Prix, and will meet the stewards after allegedly impeding his Williams team-mate Luke Browning
Esteban Ocon was fifth for Haas with Nico Hulkenberg sixth for Sauber.
Yuki Tsunoda – who also heads to the stewards ahead of Practice Two at 4pm for a pit-lane incident with Albon – was ninth for Red Bull with Oscar Piastri 10th in the second McLaren.
But Kimi Antonelli’s session lasted just three laps before power issues in his Mercedes brought him back into the garage, where he stayed for the remainder of the hour.
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Mercedes are forced to use ‘old-school F1’ techniques to separate Kimi Antonelli’s gearbox and engine during FP1 of the Bahrain Grand Prix.
Williams’ Browning, who will return to his F2 duties for the remainder of the race weekend, was the highest-placed young runner in 13th place ahead of Ferrari’s Dino Beganovic, who stood in for Charles Leclerc, in 14th, and Aston Martin’s Felipe Drugovich in 16th.
Fresh from his sudden swap from Alpine to Haas after driving for the former in Practice One last Friday at Suzuka, Ryo Hirakawa was 17th quickest ahead of Mercedes reserve Frederik Vesti and Red Bull’s Ayumu Iwasa.
Sky Sports F1’s Bahrain GP Schedule
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Sky Sports F1’s Martin Brundle breaks down the best chances of winning the Bahrain Grand Prix
Friday April 11
- 1.55pm: F3 Qualifying
- 2.40pm: F2 Qualifying
- 3.35pm: Bahrain GP Practice Two (session starts at 4pm)
- 5.15pm: The F1 Show
Saturday April 12
- 11.10am: F3 Sprint Race
- 1.15pm: Bahrain GP Practice Three (session starts at 1.30pm)
- 3.10pm: F2 Sprint
- 4.10pm: Bahrain GP Qualifying build-up
- 5pm: BAHRAIN GP QUALIFYING
- 7pm: Ted’s Qualifying Notebook
Sunday April 13
- 10.50am: F3 Feature Race
- 12.20pm: F2 Feature Race
- 2.30pm: Bahrain GP build-up: Grand Prix Sunday
- 4pm: THE BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX
- 6pm: Bahrain GP reaction: Chequered Flag
- 7pm: Ted’s Notebook
Formula 1 continues its triple-header in Sakhir at the Bahrain Grand Prix this weekend, live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports with NOW – No contract, cancel anytime
