P2 and 53 laps for Carlos Sainz in afternoon session

P2 and 53 laps for Carlos Sainz in afternoon session | Bahrain Day 1. P2 and 53 laps for Carlos in afternoon session.

Pierre Gasly was the fastest at the end of the first day of Formula 1 pre-season testing in Bahrain, with the AlphaTauri driver putting in a 1:33.902 during a flurry of fast laps in the final hour of track time as temperatures cooled at the Sakhir circuit.

Scuderia Ferrari Spanish driver Carlos Sainz took over the Maranello team’s F1-75 car for the afternoon session after Charles Leclerc hit the track in the morning and ended up with the fastest lap time in Bahrain. Carlos successfully completed Ferrar’s testing schedule for the first day of testing and rose to finish second as he also put in his best time late in the evening. His best lap time was 1:34:359, almost half a second slower than what Gasly did.

It was therefore a positive first day of testing for Ferrari, who complted a total of 116 laps on Thursday. The F1-75 car looks quite driveable compared to many and the Maranello team will look to build on the positive impressions tomorrow, when we can expect Ferrari will deliver even better lap times.

Day one – final standings

Position	Driver	Team	Time	Tyre	Laps
1	Pierre Gasly	AlphaTauri	1:33.902	C4	103
2	Carlos Sainz	Ferrari	1:34.359	C3	52
3	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	1:34.531	C3	64
4	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	1:34.736	C4	50
5	Alex Albon	Williams	1:35.070	C4	104
6	Lando Norris	McLaren	1:35.356	C2	50
7	Valtteri Bottas	Alfa Romeo	1:35.495	C3	66
8	Sebastian Vettel	Aston Martin	1:35.706	C3	39
9	George Russell	Mercedes	1:35.941	C3	60
10	Sergio Perez	Red Bull	1:35.977	C2	138
11	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:36.365	C3	62
12	Fernando Alonso	Alpine	1:36.745	C3	24
13	Esteban Ocon	Alpine	1:36.768	C2	42
14	Zhou Guanyu	Alfa Romeo	1:37.164	C3	54
15	Pietro Fittipaldi	Haas	1:37.422	C2	47