What we learned on day one of F1 testing in Bahrain

By:

Matt Kew

Feb 23, 2023, 7:09 PM

While Max Verstappen topping the timesheets on day one of Formula 1 testing will have been a turn off for some, few definitive conclusions can be drawn from his halo time. But there was no shortage of other, more concrete stories unfolding in Bahrain for observers to sink their teeth into

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Max Verstappen topping the first day of 2023 testing in Bahrain is the headline that Formula 1 probably didn’t want the media to be writing. Already some will have glanced at the result and concluded immediately that very little has changed. Red Bull has once again built the fastest ground-effects car and the double world champion has lost nothing of his edge. Roll on 2024…

Given the supremacy of the Dutch ace and his RB18 last season that manifested itself with 15 grand prix wins and dominant title success, few would reasonably deny that this driver and car combination is the one to beat. That’s even with the 25% cut to wind tunnel time that Red Bull must contend with as a legacy of winning the constructors’ crown in 2022, alongside exceeding the cost cap the year before. But that is not a conclusion that can be drawn solely and securely from events at the Sakhir circuit on Thursday.

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Matt Kew

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Matt Kew is Autosport’s F1 Editor, a role he has held since March 2022 following stints covering Formula E, Extreme E and the British Touring Car Championship.

Matt joined Autosport in 2018 to work predominantly on the magazine, but his relentless quoting of Alan Partridge meant office colleagues soon thought he would be better-suited to increased field work.

Needless to say, Matt had the last laugh when he won the Motorsport UK Young Journalist of the Year Award in 2019.

His interest in motorsport was sparked by regular trips to watch ASCAR crash around Rockingham’s banked oval.

Matt read politics and philosophy at the University of Sheffield - receiving first-class honours for his dissertation assessing the lack of female participation in top-tier motor racing.

He covered a wide variety of national race and rally meetings for Autosport as a freelancer before joining full-time. His best efforts to argue the merits of historic racing are undone by a questionable taste in music and James Bond actors.