Bahrain Day 1 Testing: Leclerc leading this morning ahead of Albon

In terms of time, Monégasque Charles Leclerc is once again in the lead. He was already the fastest in Barcelona, but his times this morning confirm the great form of Ferrari and its driver of the day.

He constantly improved his time. Charles Leclerc quickly established himself as the fastest driver of the morning. First, in 1:37.017, he sped up an hour later to complete a lap in 1:34.531. The choice of C3 tires clearly paid off on the Bahrain track, despite very strong winds this morning and a wheel lock-up at 2 hours of testing.

If we already knew that Haas would not participate in the first tests, the delay of McLaren surprised. Lando Norris, who was the first to leave, only started at 8:45am, giving his competitors a three-quarter hour head start.

Aston Martin has positioned itself well, displaying the third best time of the morning thanks in particular to some adjustments. With his new helmet, Sebastian Vettel took advantage of these tests to try out the C3 tires and will take the wheel again on Friday morning. In the meantime, it will be Lance Stroll’s turn to take off.

At Mercedes, the new W13 has created a surprise in the paddock. The Silver Arrow of Lewis appeared with almost invisible sidepods. Lewis Hamilton finishes this first testing session with the fifth fastest time on C3 tires.

On the side of Williams, Alexander Albon achieved the second best time of the morning in C4, showing his great form and that of his Williams. He is catching up to Charles Leclerc and is only 539 milliseconds behind the Monegasque.

A virtual safety car slowed down the drivers’ speed by 40% eight minutes before the end of these first tests. No incidents to report, it is just a rehearsal of the interruption procedure.

The French drivers Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly both chose the C2 tires and finished in 6th and 9th places respectively.

At Red Bull, Mexican driver Sergio Pérez started with the RB18 and is showing the fourth best time in C3, while Alfa Romeo driver Guanyu Zhou ranks seventh on C3 tires.