Mclaren’s Lando Norris powered into the spotlight on Wednesday, blitzing the field to top the timesheets on the opening day of Formula 1 pre-season testing at the Bahrain International Circuit.

As teams shook off the winter rust, the day wasn’t without its quirks. A bizarre hour-long red flag brought everything to a standstill after a circuit-wide power cut plunged the track into chaos.

Despite the hiccup, it was smooth sailing for the teams’ reliability game. Not a single car sputtered to a stop on the asphalt, leaving engineers breathing easy.

Thursday’s Day Two, however, is shaping up to be a wild card. The FIA’s weather whisperers are predicting rain could crash the party, threatening to throw a soggy wrench into the teams’ carefully laid run plans.

Only the shrewd strategists at Aston Martin and Haas thought ahead, sneaking Pirelli’s Intermediate and Wet tyres into their arsenals.

The action kicks off from 10:00-14:00 and 15:00-19:00 local time—that’s 07:00-11:00 and 12:00-16:00 for UK fans tuning in three hours behind Bahrain.

Here is Thursday’s driver line-up to keep your eyes on.

Team AM PM
McLaren Piastri Norris
Ferrari Hamilton Leclerc
Red Bull Lawson Lawson
Mercedes Russell Antonelli
Aston Martin Alonso Stroll
Alpine Gasly Doohan
Haas Ocon Bearman
Racing Bulls Tsunoda Hadjar
Williams Sainz Sainz
Kick Sauber Hulkenberg Bortoleto

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via X and Facebook

Michael Delaney

Recent Posts

Stella admits to Sepang strategy blunder: ‘A single miscalculation’

For McLaren team boss Andrea Stella, last weekend’s Bahrain Grand Prix was a harsh reminder…

40 minutes ago

Antonelli reveals what racing Verstappen taught him at Sepang

F1 championship leader Kimi Antonelli walked away from last weekend’s Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia…

2 hours ago

Mansell's finally breaks his duck after 72-race run

It was a long time coming - 72 races to be exact - but on…

3 hours ago

Alonso reportedly set for sensational Dakar return in 2027

Fernando Alonso isn’t one to settle for a quiet off-season. Just when paddock observers thought…

4 hours ago

Valtteri Bottas opts for extreme cycle commute to Singapore!

Most F1 drivers handle double-header travel days by slipping into air-conditioned transfer vans, boarding a…

5 hours ago

Horner reacts to Red Bull-Ford monumental first at Sepang

Red Bull and Max Verstappen’s triumph in last weekend’s Bahrain Grand Prix was a vindication…

7 hours ago