Quote Originally Posted by Fortitude View Post
2024 Bahrain F1 test: Verstappen heads first day by 1.1s from Norris.
Verstappen used the much-improved conditions during the final half hour to knock another three tenths off and seal the top spot with a 1m31.344s lap, a second and a half faster than he was during the same session last winter.
Feb 21, 2024, 4:05 PM
Filip Cleeren
Motorsport.com

The three-time world champion set the pace in the morning session and stayed on board for the remainder of the day, reclaiming the lead from McLaren's Lando Norris around the halfway mark with a lap of 1m31.662s on Pirelli's yellow-marked C3 tyres.

Norris stayed second after a much-improved opening session of the new season compared to McLaren's backfoot start last year. After taking over from team-mate Oscar Piastri, the Briton clocked 72 laps to finish 1.1s behind Verstappen with a 1m32.484s that had briefly yielded the lead.

RB's Daniel Ricciardo produced just 48 laps, but his best effort was good enough for fourth, a mere 0.015s behind Sainz. Fellow afternoon runners Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) and Pierre Gasly (Alpine) were next up in fifth and sixth respectively, followed by the second Ferrari of Charles Leclerc, who was the fastest of the morning runners behind Verstappen.

‘Verstappen heads first day by 1.1s’;

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/2...rris/10578335/


Verstappen puts Red Bull over a second ahead of rivals on first day of testing
21st February 2024, 16:28
Written by Will Wood
RaceFans

Max Verstappen picked up where he left off last year by putting his Red Bull on top of the times by over a second on the first day of testing.

Pos. Car number Driver Team Model Best time Gap Laps

1 1 Max Verstappen Red Bull RB20 1’31.344 143

2 4 Lando Norris McLaren MCL38 1’32.484 1.140 72

3 55 Carlos Sainz Jnr Ferrari SF-24 1’32.584 1.240 69

4 3 Daniel Ricciardo RB RB01 1’32.599 1.255 52

5 10 Pierre Gasly Alpine A524 1’32.805 1.461 60

6 18 Lance Stroll Aston Martin AMR24 1’33.007 1.663 54

7 16 Charles Leclerc Ferrari SF-24 1’33.247 1.903 64

8 14 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin AMR24 1’33.385 2.041 77

9 81 Oscar Piastri McLaren MCL38 1’33.658 2.314 57

10 24 Zhou Guanyu Sauber C44 1’33.871 2.527 62

'2024 Formula 1 Bahrain testing – Day One complete times';

https://www.racefans.net/2024/02/21/...ay-of-testing/
No surprise to see Max at the top but good to see Ricciardo at number 4 spot which means that he has a good enough car to get consistent top 10 finishes.