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Formula 1 Bahrain February Testing

F1 Bahrain pre-season test - Day 1

Minute by minute updates on the opening day of the 2023 F1 Bahrain pre-season test

Nyck de Vries, AlphaTauri AT04

Testing starts on Thursday 23 February at 07:00 GMT (10:00 local time) and runs until Saturday. All three days follow the same schedule, with running taking place from 10:00 until 14:15, and from 15:15 until 19:30 (all local time), pausing for a lunch break.

All 10 teams are set to be in action for the Bahrain pre-season test, which is the only pre-season test ahead of the 2023 season.

More: F1 Bahrain test driver line-up

The Bahrain pre-season test will take place on 23-25 February ahead of the 2023 F1 season opener at the same venue, the Bahrain Grand Prix, on 3-5 March.

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Alonso is now on the pitwall as he continues to speak to some of his new colleagues.
Yet, Magnussen is clearly getting up to speed as he moves into that 11th spot as top of the afternoon-only drivers so far.
Also of note is another lock-up for Haas, Magnussen seemingly having the same problem as Hulkenberg now the Dane has ventured out for the first time.
Away from Alfa, there is some concern at McLaren as there is some close inspection of the front left of the car.
And there's some of the Alfa for comparison!
Zhou Guanyu, Alfa Romeo C43

Zhou Guanyu, Alfa Romeo C43

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

We're still getting used to some of the new liveries for this year, particularly the new Alfa Romeo colour scheme. In a certain light, there's definitely a vague similarity between the new Alfa Romeo livery and that of the 1984 Tyrrell 012! 

 

Bottas ventures out for the first time in the Alfa Romeo but, down at Aston Martin, Alonso is out of the car after his two initial laps. Given Aston missed out on some running this morning, it is already playing catch-up.
Ocon kicks up some dust as he's pushing on in the Alpine. Unlike some of the other teams, his car is not doused in flow-vis paint or aero measuring devices.
Norris goes 11th with his first flying effort - that's two seconds slower than new team-mate Piastri managed this morning. Not bad for a first effort!
Hamilton, Alonso and Norris now also join the fray so it's just Magnussen and Bottas that are still in the pits.
Leclerc does set a time, slower than de Vries, but was looking very twitchy with the rake on the rear.
And the floodgates have opened now! Ocon and Sargeant are the latest to head out. Leclerc meanwhile has measuring equipment all over the rear of his Ferrari.
De Vries does not pit and sets his first time of F1 testing. It's an unrepresentative 1m39.232s that's over six seconds slower than what Verstappen managed this morning.
Leclerc does now head out on track so we're at the dizzying heights of three cars circulating now...
Oh and you can tell it's testing as there's a huge dollop of flow-vis paint smeared all over the front of the AlphaTauri. Verstappen, meanwhile, heads back to the pits again.
Verstappen does not complete his first full lap as he drives through the pitlane before heading back out. And now he's joined on track by compatriot de Vries in the AlphaTauri.
And the answer is no, because it's the one team that hasn't undertaken a lunchtime driver change that heads out first. Morning pacesetter Verstappen takes to the track for Red Bull.
Oh, finally there is some activity! Charles Leclerc is just settling himself into the Ferrari - will the Prancing Horse be the first to gallop this afternoon?

One of the drivers in action earlier was Oscar Piastri, the latest driver from Australia to join the F1 grid. But there is - potentially - one difference between him and his 14 Aussie predecessors. Unlike those before, he is joining a team where results are expected and is an established top-half-of-the-grid contender.

The other 14 all made their debuts with what could be described at the time as backmarkers or totally unproven operations. Although that didn't stop Mark Webber from taking a memorable fifth place on his debut on home soil in 2002 for Minardi...

 

Still nothing to report five minutes into this session and the level of activity in the pits does not suggest that's going to change imminently.
Take Alpine, for example. The new A523 is in bits and there's no sign of Ocon clambering aboard any time soon.
There may only be three days of pre-season running, but the teams are in no rush to head out for this session! That may have something to do with the number of driver changes being carried out...
Green flag
And we're away! The second session of 2023 F1 pre-season testing begins!
Sun
Helpfully, race control is informing us that the risk of rain for this session is 0%. At least that's one variable the teams don't have to contend with
So, after some initial fact-finding laps this morning, for the bulk of the teams, the next section of running will also be exploratory as drivers get a feel for their new steeds.

It's now just under 15 minutes until track action is due to resume in Bahrain. And it's all change with only Max Verstappen of this morning's drivers due to stay behind the wheel. Here's who we can expect:

Red Bull: Max Verstappen

Ferrari: Charles Leclerc

Mercedes: Lewis Hamilton

Alpine: Esteban Ocon

McLaren: Lando Norris

Alfa Romeo: Valtteri Bottas

Aston Martin: Fernando Alonso

Haas: Kevin Magnussen

AlphaTauri: Nyck de Vries

Williams: Logan Sargeant

Now, last year may have been the significant one when it came to F1 technical regulation changes, but there have still been some tweaks for this year. In this video, our technical guru JAKE BOXALL-LEGGE guides you through what's new for 2023.

 
As a reminder of how notoriously tricky testing can be to interpret, who can forget 2001 when Prost set a serious of blisteringly quick times? Only for the blue machines to be distinctly lower midfield runners at the opening round - having run very, very low fuel during those pre-season tests.
Thank you, Mr Newbold! So, hands up then, who expected Williams to be third on the leaderboard on the first morning of pre-season testing? Yes, the times are essentially irrelevant at this stage, but completing the most laps of anyone so far is probably the more significant statistic for the squad.
And with that, I'll hand over to the very capable hands of Stephen Lickorish to take you into the afternoon running.
And while we're on the topic of times bettering last year - Verstappen's benchmark is also under the day two best from Kevin Magnussen, who you may remember had some extra track time all to himself late in the evening to compensate for Haas having its freight delayed. The Dane's time a year ago on day two was a 1m33.207s.
We've not got too long to wait now before the second session gets under way at 12:15 GMT.
It's always dangerous to play pace comparison games, but there's been plenty of talk about how this morning's times are already faster than the best from day one in last year's test. For reference, that was a 1m33.902s from Pierre Gasly's AlphaTauri. And Verstappen's benchmark 1m32.959s so far is surely going to be bettered this afternoon as temperatures drop. Such is the rate of progress in 12 months of Formula 1...
That means we'll get to see Logan Sargeant in action for the first time as a Williams race driver, after his FP1 outings last year gearing up for his opportunity.

His arrival is eagerly anticipated as the first American to make it onto the grid since Alexander Rossi in 2015, but he's not planning to count on his nationality to become a mainstay of the grid - as you can read in the latest feature from sister title GP Racing magazine: https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/why-f1s-missing-piece-wont-play-on-his-nationality-for-success/10435087/
In fact, we expect the bulk of teams to be swapping their drivers around for the afternoon, with only Red Bull scheduled to keep Verstappen in for the full day. As a reminder, here's your handy guide to who is driving when during the test: https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/2023-f1-bahrain-test-preview-who-is-driving-and-when/10435119/
Keeping you company through lunch is Formula 3000 expert James Newbold.
Breaking news
A report on all this morning's action can be found here.
And a familiar name at the top of the standings, with Verstappen and Red Bull leading the way from Sainz and Ferrari.

By: Autosport Staff

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