Alfa Romeo Racing drivers Kimi Raikkonen and Antonio Giovinazzi completed the first part of the scheduled programme ahead of the 2019 Bahrain Grand Prix. In the first free practice session at the Bahrain International Circuit, Kimi finished in P10, with a persinal best lap time of 1’32.385 and 23 laps during which the Finnish driver tested several setups and tyre behaviur in the scorching Bahrain track temperature.
An incident with Alex Albon’s Toro Rosso halfway through the session almost led to an early ending of the first practice session for Kimi, but thankfully the Finn was able to continue without any damage. Thinks didn’t go so well for Antonio Giovinazzi, as the Italian driver and Nico Hulkenberg collided in the final stages of the session. The Alfa Romeo overtook the Renault, but there wasn’t enough room for both of them to get through the corner and they hit each other side-on.
Charles Leclerc set the fastest time in the first practice session for the Bahrain Grand Prix, putting his Ferrari almost a second ahead of the closest Mercedes. The usual top six cars were followed by Carlos Sainz Jnr, with a new power unit in his McLaren following the MGU-K failure which halted him in Australia. He was just one-tenth of a second off Gasly, and followed closely by fellow Renault user Nico Hulkenberg.
Two other teams completed the top 10: Daniil Kvyat for Toro Rosso and Kimi Raikkonen in his Alfa Romeo.
FP1 Results (Classification):
Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:30.354 Soft
Sebastian Vettel Ferrari +0.263 Soft
Valtteri Bottas Mercedes +0.974 Soft
Lewis Hamilton Mercedes +1.247 Soft
Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing +1.319 Soft
Pierre Gasly Red Bull Racing +1.461 Soft
Carlos Sainz McLaren +1.598 Soft
Nico Hulkenberg Renault +1.686 Soft
Daniil Kvyat Toro Rosso +1.985 Soft
Kimi Raikkonen Alfa Romeo +2.031 Soft
Daniel Ricciardo Renault +2.047 Soft
Kevin Magnussen Haas +2.248 Soft
Alex Albon Toro Rosso +2.520 Soft
Sergio Perez Racing Point +2.531 Soft
Lando Norris McLaren +2.591 Soft
Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo +2.595 Soft
Romain Grosjean Haas +2.640 Soft
Lance Stroll Racing Point +3.164 Soft
George Russell Williams +3.834 Soft
Robert Kubica Williams +3.899 Soft
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