Red Bull lead first day of testing

Testing began for the 2021 Formula 1 season with Max Verstappen’s Red Bull on top of the time sheets in Bahrain. 

If you were looking for any insight to how the season may progress, you could say that McLaren had a successful first day with the second quickest time. Will that equate to race wins or podiums? Time will tell but what it does suggest is that with around 100 laps in the bank, the new Mercedes engine is certainly helping them instead of hurting. 

You could also suggest that Mercedes had a bit of a bumpy start with breadbox issues early on for Valtteri Bottas and once that was righted, Lewis Hamilton only added 42 additional laps which was only slightly over 30% of the total laps that Red Bull ran. 

Mercedes is a class operation and I’ve learned to ignore all of their hand-wringing over the years during testing. This year, with just one practice session over this weekend, time is critical and they have a lot of ground to make up. 

1. Verstapen – Red Bull – 1:30.674 – 138 laps
2. Norris – McLaren – +0.215s – 45 laps
3. Ocon – Alpine – + 0.472s – 128 laps
4. Stroll – Aston Martin – +1.108s – 46 laps
5. Sainz – Ferrari – +1.245 – 56 laps
6. Giovinazzi – Alfa Romeo – +1.271s – 68 laps
7. Ricciardo – McLaren – +1.529s – 45 laps
8. Gasly – AlphaTauri – +1.557s – 74 laps
9. Tsunoda – AlphaTauri – +2.053s – 37 laps
10. Hamilton – Mercedes – +2.238 – 42 laps
11. Leclerc – Ferrari – +2.568 – 59 laps
12. Raikkonen – Alfa Romeo – +2.646 – 63 laps
13. Vettel – Aston Martin – +3.068s – 51 laps
14. Nissany – Williams – +4.115s – 83 laps
15. Mazepin – Haas – + 4.124s – 69 laps
16. Schumacher – Haas – +5.453s – 15 laps
17. Bottas – Mercedes – +6.176 – 6 laps