FP1 really complicated in Bahrain for the drivers who took to the track. Little grip and very high temperatures characterized a session from which very few ideas emerged. The only certainty is instead the McLaren of Lando Norris, who set the fastest time and, together with Piastri, they tried some short race pace simulations. Ferrari, on the other hand, tried the new updated floor, first with Lewis Hamilton and then with the debutant Dino Beganovich.
FP1 in Bahrain: six rookies on track
The first free practice session of the season begins at 13pm Italian time. Bahrain Grand PrixThe first to hit the track is Ayumu Iwasa, who replaces Max Verstappen in Red Bull. In addition to him, Ryo also took possession of the car of the main drivers Harakawa with the Haas, to Oliver Bearman's post. Felipe then returns to driving a Formula 1 Drugovich, with the former Formula 2 champion having been handed over the wheel by Fernando Alonso. Sainz did the same in Williams leaving room for Luke Browning. Meanwhile, in Mercedes, Russell remained on the bench in favor of Frederik News.
Finally, also the Ferrari chose to field a rookie alongside Lewis Hamilton, it's about the promising Dino Beganovich. The teams have chosen to mark off one of the four mandatory slots to be left to budding young drivers for at least two reasons. The first is that pre-season testing was held in Bahrain, so the teams already have a reference setup to refer toThe second is that, simply, the weather conditions are currently very different to the night-time conditions in which qualifying and the race take place.
Meanwhile, already in the eighth minute of the session we have the first shot: Andrea Kimi Antonelli he is forced to retire, with his Mercedes which has visibly lost power. In fact, the Italian driver's engine went into protection mode due to a water leak. The mechanics brought the number 12 back into the pits and dismantled the bottom of the car. The leak was eventually identified and will be repaired to get back on track in the FP2.
Drivers in a lot of difficulty: the track has little grip
La first free practice session It is characterized by a complicated climate and from a track with really little grip. The cars took to the track with the air intakes of the engine hoods very open, due to the very high temperatures. In fact, the asphalt is 48°, while the atmospheric temperatures reach 35°. Furthermore, the track still has little rubber and, consequently, very little grip. Many drivers were the protagonists of some long runs, like Vesti, while others almost spun, like Lance stroll.
One of the drivers who complained most about these conditions was Lewis Hamilton, who explained to his engineer that he felt as if the car was not working in contact with the track. Among other things, in Ferrari work is underway on the updates just brought. The Englishman's car has a new bottom, with a different conformation of the venturi channels. At the rear, however, the diffuser has been modified, with the aim of generating aerodynamic vortices in a different way. At the same time, Beganovich spent half the session with the old fund configuration. Then, subsequently, he returned to the pits to assemble the updated version.
At the end of the session the fastest on track was Lando Norris
Really very few references have emerged from these first 60 minutes of free practice. The track remained difficult to drive throughout the session, with the cars, for the first time this year, slower than in the first free practice session last year. The drivers then switched quite quickly to the soft tyre, which has more grip. McLaren, however, tried to focus on race pace, keeping the starting line up. The papayas attempted some short race simulations at the end of the session, with Norris on the soft tyre, while Piastri undertook the same task on the medium tyre.
The best time of the session was set by Lando Norris, turning in a 1:33.204. Two tenths behind Pierre's Alpine gasly, followed by Lewis' Ferrari Hamilton. The Red of Beganovic, who completed the first public outing in a Formula 1 Ferrari, was classified in 14th position. Iwasa, in a Red Bull, and Frederik Vesti closed the ranking. Toto Wolff, among other things, thanked the latter via radio for the excellent work, who was the only Mercedes driver in the session who was able to collect some useful data for the afternoon.
