Norris sets the pace as first day of pre-season testing in Bahrain concludes

Lando Norris ended the opening day of pre-season testing at the Bahrain International Circuit on top, with the McLaren driver setting the fastest time of the day during an afternoon session that was extended by an extra hour following a red flag.

After each team ran one of their drivers in the morning session – with Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli putting in the quickest time as well as setting the joint-highest lap count on 78 – it was the turn of the other half of the grid to get behind the wheel for the second session of Wednesday at 1500 local time.

LIVE COVERAGE: All the action from Day 1 of 2025 pre-season testing in Bahrain

Rookie Isack Hadjar was the first to hit the track for Racing Bulls – and he also became the debut spinner of session, though fortunately there was no harm done for the Frenchman. Others soon joined him on the circuit, including reigning World Champion Max Verstappen.

As the action picked up – with the likes of Norris also heading out slightly later – Russell dislodged team mate Antonelli at the top of the timesheets before Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc went faster, going top on a 1m 30.878s.

Shortly afterwards the red flags were thrown following a power cut at the circuit, leading to a lull in the action. The sun had set in Bahrain when the session resumed with 50 minutes remaining, while light spots of rain had also started to fall amid increasingly cool conditions.

Amid a busy return to the track, it was confirmed that the session would be extended by an additional hour to make up for the time lost during the stoppage. And with running now taking place under the floodlights, the drivers were able to gauge conditions representative of those that will be in play when the Bahrain Grand Prix returns in April.

READ MORE: Antonelli tops first morning of pre-season testing in Bahrain

As more laps went on the board and the times came down – with teams embarking on different run plans – it was Norris who had set the fastest time by the end of the session, the McLaren man putting in a lap of 1m 30.430s to go 0.157s quicker than Russell in second.

Verstappen followed in third, ahead of Leclerc in fourth place and Carlos Sainz in fifth as he prepares for his debut season with the Williams team. Pierre Gasly, meanwhile, put in the sixth quickest time for Alpine, with the times set by Antonelli, Liam Lawson, Alex Albon and Yuki Tsunoda during the morning session rounding out the top 10.

Hadjar took P11, with fellow rookie Gabriel Bortoleto just behind in P12 for Kick Sauber. Morning runners Lewis Hamilton, Jack Doohan and Fernando Alonso covered P13 to P15 respectively, while Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll was P16, the Canadian recording the least mileage of the day on 41 laps.

Oscar Piastri and Nico Hulkenberg held 17th and 18th with their morning lap times, with the Haas pair of Esteban Ocon and Ollie Bearman ending the day in 19th and 20th, with Haas running a different programme to their rivals.

GALLERY: Cars hit the track for the first day of 2025 pre-season testing in Bahrain

The teams and drivers will return to action for Day 2 of pre-season testing on Thursday, with the morning session set to get underway at 1000 local time.