Mick Schumacher second fastest on Formula 1 test debut with Ferrari. Mick made his Formula One debut in Bahrain on Tuesday.

Mick Schumacher made his Formula One debut in Bahrain on Tuesday, driving for the Ferrari team that took his father Michael to the five of his seven world titles.

Mick Schumacher was the centre of attention as he completed his first 56 laps at the wheel of an F1 car, while Red Bull’s Max Verstappen clocked the fastest time. The Ferrari Driver Academy is evaluating Schumacher for a fast-tracked route to F1 over the coming years and the 20-year-old is due to drive for Alfa Romeo in the second day of the test on Wednesday.

The morning session got underway with a scrum of photographers outside the Ferrari garage, while Schumacher’s mother, Corinna, watched her son’s early progress from the pit wall. Some of the Ferrari mechanics had worked on his father’s car during the height of Ferrari’s dominance in the early-2000s and seeing the family name back on the side of the car was an evocative sight.

The desert circuit was hit by a rare downpour just after midday, resulting in a four-hour delay as dust and rain water combined to make for treacherous track conditions. Cars returned to the circuit with roughly 90 minutes remaining and, with the track drying rapidly, Schumacher started to light up the timing screens. He was the first driver to dip under 1:30s, with a 1:29.976 — some two seconds off pole position on Saturday — as he traded quick laps with Verstappen. The pair, who went on family holidays together in their youth, were closely matched on the timesheets, but Schumacher was using the softest, grippiest tyres in Pirelli’s range while Verstappen used a set of used tyres two steps harder. On his final run, Verstappen set a 1:29.379, beating Schumacher’s best effort by 0.597s despite the slower tyres.

But comparisons are not really fair in testing and Schumacher’s commitment around the lap still impressed for a debut. He finished the session second fastest ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris in third.

Schumacher’s presence eclipsed the return of Fernando Alonso in a second McLaren, which was being used for a Pirelli tyre test. It was Alonso’s first time in a contemporary F1 car since his farewell race in Abu Dhabi last November, and he completed 50 laps in total evaluating development tyres for Pirelli. He will return to the car for another half day on Wednesday.

Reigning champion Lewis Hamilton, who famously dislikes testing, set the sixth fastest time as he worked through a series of test programmes on the Mercedes over 71 laps. McLaren, Haas and Williams all split their running between two drivers, while like McLaren, Toro Rosso ran a second car as part of Pirelli’s tyre testing.

Times at close

1. Max Verstappen, Red Bull, 1:29.379, 69 laps (C3)
2. Mick Schumacher, Ferrari, 1:29.976, 56 laps (C5)
3. Lando Norris, McLaren, 1:30.800, 22 laps (C3)
4. Romain Grosjean, Haas, 1:30.982, 42 laps (C3)
5. Alexander Albon, Toro Rosso, 1:31.089, 71 laps (C3)
6. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 1:31.156, 77 laps (C3)
7. Daniel Ricciardo, Renault, 1:31.584, 45 laps (C4)
8. Lance Stroll, Racing Point, 1:31.964, 32 laps (C3)
9. Carlos Sainz, McLaren, 1:32.059, 32 laps (C2)
10. Antonio Giovinazzi, Alfa Romeo, 1:32.067, 53 laps (C3)
11. Pietro Fittipaldi, Haas, 1:32.708, 20 laps (C3)
12. Robert Kubica, Williams, 1:33.290, 19 laps (C3)
13. George Russell, Williams, 1:33.682, 27 laps (C3)