F1: Verstappen starts well in pre-season testing, Mercedes slows down

Successful debuts for Red Bull and Max Verstappen: The Dutchman dominated on day one of Formula 1 pre-season testing on Friday in Bahrain, relegating far behind the Mercedes, who drove very little due to technical issues.

Three months after the last Grand Prix of the 2020 season, which crowned Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) for the seventh time, the new cars were out for the first day, out of three, of shortened winter testing.

And three months after his victory in Abu Dhabi, it is still Verstappen who is ahead.

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Under the heat, the wind and the thick cloud of sand which fell throughout the day on the desert island of the Gulf, Verstappen set the best time in 1 min 30 sec 674 / 1000th, confirming the good end of year of Red Bull.

Behind him, the McLarens were there.

Lando Norris set the second fastest time (+ 215 / 1000th) and Daniel Ricciardo, transferred from Renault this winter, dominated the morning session (7th fastest time overall).

Wolff: "Not a good start"

The Frenchman Esteban Ocon, 3rd (+ 472 / 1000th), made as good a sensation as the first single-seater of Alpine (ex-Renault) he drives, whose metallic blue and the colors of the French flag have much more to the fans of F1, on social networks.

But the day was first marked by the false start of Mercedes.

The team, which outrageously dominates since 2014, had to wait until the last hour of the morning to register a time.

As a result, Finnish vice-world champion Valtteri Bottas, long stuck in the garage, was only able to complete six laps, finishing with the last time behind Haas rookies Nikita Mazepin and Mick Schumacher.

“It was not a good start,” euphemized Mercedes boss Toto Wolff at a mid-day press conference.

“We had a gearbox problem that came out of nowhere that we haven't been able to identify yet.”  

In the afternoon, Hamilton was able to ride a little longer and faster, completing 42 laps, the best of which was 1: 32.912 (10th).

Wolff didn't look worried, however.

The Austrian believes that the three days of testing (against six or eight in Barcelona in recent years) will only offer a "vague picture" of the forces involved, due in particular to "gusts of wind" and sand, changeable.

Ferrari, which comes out of a disaster year ended in 6th place, remains in doubt with the 11th time signed Charles Leclerc and the 5th, obtained at the end of the day by the new recruit Carlos Sainz Jr.

Alonso on track Saturday  

More than the lap times, the challenge, before the first Grand Prix here in Bahrain on March 28, was to finally discover the technical novelties.

Regulatory freeze requires, the single-seaters are largely similar to those of 2020 and the rare modifications, which could make the difference on the track, had until now been kept secret by the flagship teams.

In the pits, all eyes were on the floor of the Mercedes or the back of the Red Bull.

On Saturday, other drivers will enter the track, such as the returning Fernando Alonso (Alpine).

After two victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, he returned to 39 years in F1 "better than ever", warned at a press conference the double Spanish world champion (2005, 2006 with Renault).

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