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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
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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Meanwhile Russell is being kept busy in the W14 as he locks up the left-front at the notorious Turn 10. He keeps it on the asphalt though.
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Piastri moves himself back into eighth with a new personal best, a 1m34.888s that puts him 1.635s off the pace.
Sainz hustles a lap out of the Ferrari which is 0.423s down on his best - and immediately slows after crossing the line. That would have still been enough to put him into third, just behind Albon.
Sainz is back on track in the Ferrari, which doesn't look entirely free from bouncing along the pit straight even if it's notably not as pronounced as last year.
It's 12:46 local time in Bahrain and track temps are currently 41.7 degrees - so pretty much in the heat of the day. Times will naturally fall later on as temperatures cool.
Drugovich is the only man out on track at the moment in the Aston, the reigning F2 champion still P10 on the timesheets currently 3.6s off the ultimate pace. Probably not a surprise to see him get the donkey work on the first morning as teams focus on setting a baseline, with Alonso likely to be tasked with chasing performance.
That Sakhir GP was one of three different layouts we've seen at the circuit since it made its F1 bow in 2004. Aside from the regular track, a long version was used for the 2010 season-opener. Which is your favourite iteration? Personally, I had a soft spot for that 'bullring' style short track.
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A welcome return to Mercedes' Black Arrows livery. George Russell has only raced with it once of course, here in Bahrain when he subbed for a COVID-stricken Lewis Hamilton in the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix. He was set for victory that day until a puncture struck, allowing Sergio Perez's Racing Point to score a memorable win.
Away from the track action, there's plenty of activity down in the Alpine garage where mechanics are busy with spanners tweaking front wing settings and the like. Pierre Gasly is currently seventh on the timesheets, for what that's worth.
It's been a strong morning in terms of laps logged for Alfa, with 39 in the books so far. In Matt Kew's analysis of what each team needs to do to avoid setting alarm bells ringing, he said any improvement on last year's disrupted running would be a major step forward. You can read that feature here: https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/what-each-team-must-escape-in-testing-to-avoid-setting-off-alarm-bells/10435029/
As a reminder to those of you tuning in, the teams aren't limited to the three different compounds of tyre used on race weekends as Pirelli has brought the full suite to Bahrain for testing. We doubt the wet ones will be needed much though.
I'm getting Ralf Schumacher vibes from Zhou's new helmet. Maybe a smattering of Pedro de la Rosa in there too? The Alfa man is currently fourth in the charts.
It's always a dangerous game to look too much into the times at this stage of testing, but Carlos Sainz is currently quickest on a 1m33.253s for Ferrari. He has the fastest first and last sector, with Red Bull's Max Verstappen fastest through the twisty bit in the middle thus far.
After his electronics issue earlier, Aston reserve driver Felipe Drugovich is back out circulating and has now logged 14 laps - still the fewest of anybody so far. As a reminder, the reigning F2 champion has been pressed into action after Lance Stroll was injured in a cycling accident.
Piastri has just been bumped back to ninth place in the timesheets by AlphaTauri's Yuki Tsunoda, who pumps in a 1m35.389s.
Oscar Piastri is currently circulating in the McLaren, running the unfamiliar number 81. Not a number that has too much motorsport history associated with it (even in NASCAR, Kenny Wallace was no great shakes). Will that change this year?
Good morning everybody, welcome back to testing and its pervading mixture of anticipation, confusion and double bluff. Let's delve into it.
As we hit the halfway mark of this morning's session, I'll hand over to James Newbold for the next stint of F1 pre-season test coverage while I go and get some much-needed breakfast.
A wild Mick Schumacher appears! The former Haas driver is serving as Mercedes' reserve driver this season and is sat in the garage watching on
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George Russell goes fifth fastest with a 1m34.174s, two seconds quicker than his earlier time
In other news, F1 Academy has announced its full calendar and weekend format for 2023. Read more here: https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/calendar-format-for-all-female-f1-academy-series-revealed/10435291/
Not much movement on the timing screens at the moment as we reach the halfway mark of this morning's session. Alex Albon clocks another lap in the Williams but fails to improve, with a 1m37.905s
Whoops - bit wide there at the final corner from Alex Albon there but no major drama
Tsunoda goes a bit faster as AlphaTauri begin their quick runs with a 1m37.100s. Technical director Jody Egginton believes the team has made a step in performance for this season
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Piastri goes eighth quickest with a 1m38.375, putting him narrowly ahead of AlphaTauri's Yuki Tsunoda
Oscar Piastri is out on track, hoping to set his first representative lap time of the day as he begins his F1 career with McLaren
Drugovich, the reigning F2 champion, has put in the least laps of any driver so far today, with just three laps logged. Verstappen leads the lap count with 25.
Some news from Aston Martin - the earlier problem which caused Drugovich to stop on track has been fixed:
It's looking pretty quiet out there at the moment - only Verstappen, Russell and Zhou are out on track
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Carlos Sainz has topped the times for Ferrari with a 1m33.253 - 0.34s quicker than Verstappen
Good morning all! I'll be with you for the next 45 minutes or so as F1 pre-season testing continues.
With 90 minutes off track action in the books, it is time to hand over to Megan White for the next stint of F1 pre-season test coverage. I'm off to hunt out a coffee and flow-vis paint to redecorate my laptop.
The missing piece of bodywork mystery has been solved. Hulkenberg took a bit too much kerb and lost a small chunk of floor. No harm done, as the mechanics repair his car ahead of his next run.
One of the cars has lost some bodywork between Turns 6 and 7, which had been disgarded on the kerbs at the corner exit.
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The Williams appears to have borrowed some of the Arrows A23 paint job. Albon's car is covered in orange flow-vis paint which added to the dark base colours just screams Arrows. It clearly helped, as Albon goes top with a 1m33.671s.
Breaking news
Breaking news away from the track, Ferrari strategy chief Inaki Rueda has moved into an F1 factory role amid a team reshuffle. Full story: https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/ferrari-strategy-chief-rueda-moved-to-f1-factory-role-amid-reshuffle/10435278/
The Aston is back on track! Whatever the issue was that forced Drugovich to stop on track on his out-lap, it hasn't robbed the team of too much time.
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Hulkenberg surges to second place on the early times with a 1m34.787s.
Now we've had time to see the majority of cars in continuous running, it appears the buzzword of 2022 has largely been abolished. There is little to no porpoising to report.
There's a dimple on the front of the Ferrari nose which keeps appearing and disappearing under pressure when the car is at high speed on the straights. It doesn't look intentional, but it is rather amusing.
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