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Formula 1 Bahrain March testing

F1 Bahrain 2021 pre-season testing - Day 1

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We've also got Ocon, Leclerc, Raikkonen and Nissany out on the road, trundling around the Bahrain International Circuit.
Stopwatch
So, as the baton was handed over, Gasly posted a 1m32.231s to get within 0.028s of session-topper Ricciardo. The AlphaTauri's looking very good out of the box this morning.
Good morning/afternoon everyone! Thanks to Haydn and Tom for getting up super-early and kicking us off with Live - now, Messrs. JBL and Newbold are at your service.
We are into the final hour of the morning session. Ricciardo remains the man to beat in the McLaren with a 1m32.203s.
All the teams barring Mercedes have set a timed lap as we approach the start of the final hour. Mercedes has logged just 1 lap due to a gearbox issue which the team is working to fix.
A cool shot of the grid from earlier this morning.
All the 2021 cars on the grid

All the 2021 cars on the grid

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images

Leclerc brings the Ferrari back to the pits for a brief stop before being released back on track again.
F1 teams will have four less pre-season test days compared to last year. To give an idea of mileage that can be achieved in this week's three-day test, F2 teams completed 4,253 laps during their three-day test at the Sakhir Circuit earlier this week. 
Vettel has now returned to the Aston Martin garage after stopping at the end of pit lane.
Gasly sets a purple sector but only improves by 0.193s. He stays in P2 with a 1m32.386s effort.
Yellow flag
Vettel (Aston Martin) has stopped at the end of pit lane.
 
It's still pretty windy at the circuit. A wind speed of 15.4 kph. There are reports a sandstorm could arrive in the afternoon.
If you fancy a bit of  tech update we have some news on the new floor on the Haas VF-21.
Just as we type that. Verstappen runs a little wide at Turn 1 but continues without issue.
Verstappen is starting an out lap. The Red Bull man is sitting in P3 with a 1m32.565s effort.
Bottas still in the garage as Mercedes continues to fix gearbox issues on the W12.
So a little bit of a mileage update. Gasly (AlphaTauri) has logged the most laps with 43 in the books. The next best is Ricciardo (McLaren) with 36 laps.
Stopwatch

Ricciardo is having none of that, as he pushes Gasly back to P2 with a 1m32.203s set on the C2 tyres to return McLaren back to the top.

Stopwatch

Gasly goes fastest with a 1m 32.525s, fractionally ahead of Ricciardo's earlier 1m32.537s.

Here's a wrap up on the gearbox issue that has struck Mercedes this morning.

Approaching the end of the second hour the track as gone a little quiet with only Leclerc in the Ferrari lapping. Still no sign of Mercedes nor Haas, with their respective gearbox changes currently ongoing.

Here's the Pirelli explainer on the C3 prototype tyres: "There will be two extra sets of prototype tyres supplied to each team: identical in every way to the standard C3 but produced in Turkey rather than Romania. These are being run simply to benchmark products from the back-up factory against the standard tyres."

Leclerc the very definition of testing now, as he is on the C3 prototype Pirelli tyres on the new 2021 Ferrari.

Nissany is back out on the track on some C5 tyres. He's also got a big aero rake attached to his Williams in front of the rear wheels.

Maybe Raikkonen used the Sakhir GP track layout instead of the full grand prix circuit configuration for that lap. Regardless, it has been struck from the record to see Ricciardo return to the top. As you were.

There is a bit of a timing screen glitch as Raikkonen posts a 1m12.839s, apparently, which puts him 19.6s faster than anyone else. That's probably not correct.

So not a great start to testing for Mercedes, Haas and Williams with lap counts all still in single figures after 100 minutes of running. Elsewhere relatively solid progress for the rest aside from a handful of lock ups - Ocon the latest offender down at Turn 10.
We hadn't seen much of Mick Schumacher in the Haas and here's why - a hydraulic issue means a new gearbox is being fitted.
 

It looks set to get a bit Darude in Bahrain, as there is a report of a sandstorm on the way. Anyone know what the weather graphic for sand is?

After that eye-catching lap, Ricciardo gets it wrong under braking for Turn 1 and locks up his fronts to mess up his C2 tyres. It is a common theme of the early running given the relative green-ness of the track.

Stopwatch

Ricciardo looks to have adapted to life at McLaren pretty well so far. He's just gone top with a 1m32.537s on the C2 tyres.

Starting another lap Gasly clatters some loose polystyrene on the main straight. No obvious damage done but not what AlphaTauri wants to see happen to its new car.

Gasly the latest to improve with a 1m33.313s to go P2 for AlphaTauri. He's also on the C2 which is the tyre of choice for the long runs. No real surprise there given that will be the hard option tyre for the 2021 opener at this track in two weeks' time.

Stopwatch
Ocon's time at the top is short-lived as Verstappen, also on the C2 tyres, puts in a 1m 32.565s to go 1.2s faster for Red Bull.
Stopwatch
Ocon goes fastest for Alpine with a 1m33.845s set on the C2 tyres.

So quick recap on the first hour if you missed anything: All 10 teams have been out on the track, Raikkonen leads the early times for Alfa Romeo (1m34.686s) while Leclerc in the Ferrari has produced the highest tally of laps so far (21). Mercedes are stuck in the garage due to a gearbox change, while Verstappen suffered a small spin for Red Bull.

 

Lap times are ticking up steadily now from a handful of drivers. Raikkonen still leads the way with his earlier 1m34.686s as the end of the first hour approaches.

 

By: Haydn Cobb, Tom Howard, James Newbold, Jake Boxall-Legge

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