F1 testing: Verstappen sets pace as teams tackle technical issues

Event: 2023 Pre-Season F1 testing
Track: Bahrain International Circuit

The first day of Formula One (F1) testing for the 2023 season took place at the Bahrain International Circuit with drivers taking to the track in hot temperatures. During the first hour of the afternoon session, locked brakes were a common issue among several teams indicating car setup problems. Fernando Alonso, who completed two laps, was out on the pit wall. McLaren faced a small issue with their left front side, while Charles Leclerc used aero rakes as Ferrari worked on the rear end of their SF-23.

Max Verstappen was the first driver to hit the track for the afternoon session, having already completed 71 laps in the morning. The use of flow-vis and aero rakes for gathering data for car performance analysis and development was discussed. Alfa Romeo's screens in front of their garage suggested that Valtteri Bottas was not set to take to the track yet.

Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin AMR23 during the Bahrain February Testing

McLaren faced a recurrence of brake issues from last season, limiting track time for Lando Norris, while Nyck De Vries focused on aero testing for the day and was up to 16th on the leaderboard. The decrease in the minimum weight limit this season led to an interest in black liveries to save weight, with Mercedes returning to their full black livery.

Verstappen completed 100 laps in the RB19 and appeared comfortable on track. Third rookie on the grid, Logan Sargeant, began his season with Williams, while Aston Martin's Drugovich had a successful morning but the team faced a problematic day with a floor issue on the car and Alonso not returning to the track.

Esteban Ocon set a personal best time during the third hour of testing and moved up to 18th on the timesheets. Mercedes made adjustments to Lewis Hamilton's car, who returned to the track with medium compound tires. Valtteri Bottas returned after work was completed on his front wing. Alfa Romeo focused on the front wing due to mechanical issues and some teams experimented with different front wings and cooling methods.

During the last 1.5 hours of testing, Ferrari monitored front wing movement with Leclerc testing some unusual struts on the front of his car. Red Bull's Verstappen already completed 129 laps without any obvious issues, while Alonso showed his speed and came in second fastest, only 0.029s behind Verstappen.

McLaren fixed a wheel brow issue and continued with their testing program. Sargeant focused on longer runs and improving his position on the timing sheets. There were also updates on reserve drivers, with Schumacher for Mercedes and Ricciardo for Red Bull. Overall, it was a productive day for most teams with only small reliability issues being reported.

Last years quickest lap time on day one in Bahrain was driven by Pierre Gasly in the AlphaTauri. He lapped the Bahrain circuit back then in 1:33,902 min.

Quickest Lap Times 1st day F1 testing

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