Max Verstappen led the way as Formula 1 testing resumed at the Bahrain International Circuit.

The Red Bull driver set the quickest time over the first four hours of running at the home of the Bahrain Grand Prix. Teams will have a further four hours of running in the late afternoon and evening.

Following Williams’ absence from the first test at the Circuit de Catalunya two weeks ago, all 11 teams are present in Bahrain for the first of two three-day tests. Carlos Sainz Jnr appeared eager to make up for lost time in the FW48, covering the highest mileage of any driver in the first morning, 20 laps more than a grand prix distance.

Oscar Piastri lapped just a tenth of a second slower than Verstappen’s benchmark of 1’35.433. At this early stage in testing, the quickest times were over five-and-a-half seconds off Piastri’s 2025 pole position time. Teams are only allowed to run Pirelli’s three hardest tyre compounds – C1, C2 and C3 – at this week’s test.

Piastri was second quickest for McLaren

While Verstappen also exceeded a grand prix distance in the RB22, the next-quickest drivers – Piastri, Mercedes’ George Russell and Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton – fell slightly short. Hamilton lost time with a brief, harmless spin at turn one early in the test.

The only red flag during the first four hours was caused by Franco Colapinto, who came to a stop in his Alpine. He rejoined the test later on, but the team has covered the lowest mileage of any so far.

Most drivers will hand over to their team mates for the remainder of today’s test with the exception of Verstappen, Esteban Ocon and Lance Stroll.

Bahrain test one, day one morning lap times:

Pos. Car number Driver Team Model Best time Gap Laps
1 33 Max Verstappen Red Bull RB22 1’35.433 65
2 81 Oscar Piastri McLaren MCL40 1’35.602 0.169 54
3 63 George Russell Mercedes W17 1’36.108 0.675 56
4 44 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari SF-26 1’36.433 1.000 52
5 31 Esteban Ocon Haas VF-26 1’37.169 1.736 63
6 41 Arvid Lindblad Racing Bulls 03 1’37.945 2.512 75
7 55 Carlos Sainz Jnr Williams FW48 1’38.221 2.788 77
8 5 Gabriel Bortoleto Audi R26 1’38.871 3.438 49
9 77 Valtteri Bottas Cadillac 1’39.150 3.717 49
10 18 Lance Stroll Aston Martin AMR26 1’39.883 4.450 33
11 43 Franco Colapinto Alpine A526 1’40.330 4.897 28

Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and

Formula 1

Browse all Formula 1 articles