Max Verstappen picked up where he left off in 2023 on day one of testing in Bahrain. It was the debut of the new RB20 which features a number of changes from last year’s car. Verstappen logged 143 laps on the day and had a brief exchange at the top with McLaren man Lando Norris who’s fastest time was 1.1 seconds behind Verstappen. If this result carries through the weekend Verstappen may once again as the man to beat in 2024.
Verstappen said: “It feels good to be back in an F1 car again and I had fun out on track today. We covered a lot of laps and tried quite a few things with the car, which was important, so happy overall with how it went. After the winter break, the first few laps always surprise you a little but then you get back into the swing of things pretty quickly. Overall, the car was responding well and considering this was only testing we had a nice day. Looking to tomorrow, we are speaking to our engineers about what the plans will be, but I am looking forward to getting into the car in the afternoon.”
Positive Day for RB, Haas Struggles Continue
Daniel Ricciardo led the way for RB finishing just behind the Ferrari of Carlos Sainz; 4th fastest. The RB appears to have found a new swing of pace and confidence. The VCARB 01 program has undergone multiple personnel changes so it will be intriguing to see if they can continue this pace moving forward over then next couple of days. Yuki Tsnoda didn’t quite keep up on day one but the team seems satisfied with the performance of both drivers on day one of testing.
Haas ended the day at the bottom of the table on day one in Bahrain. Kevin Magnussen and Nico Hulkenburg were over 4.5 seconds slower than Verstappen. If Haas are going to turn things around they will need to find some chemistry with the Lewis Hamilton and Sergio Perez did not set a time on day one of the test.
Full Day One Results Are Below
| Pos | Driver | Team | Time | Gap | Laps |
| 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 1:31.344s | | 142 |
| 2 | Lando Norris | Mclaren | 1:32.484s | +1.140s | 72 |
| 3 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | 1:32.584s | +1.240s | 69 |
| 4 | Daniel Ricciardo | RB | 1:32.599s | +1.255s | 51 |
| 5 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | 1:32.805s | +1.461s | 60 |
| 6 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | 1:33.007s | +1.663s | 53 |
| 7 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:33.247s | +1.903s | 64 |
| 8 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | 1:33.385s | +2.041s | 77 |
| 9 | Oscar Piastri | Mclaren | 1:33.658s | +2.314s | 57 |
| 10 | Zhou Guanyu | Sauber | 1:33.871s | +2.527s | 62 |
| 11 | Logan Sargeant | Williams | 1:33.882s | +2.538s | 21 |
| 12 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1:34.109s | +2.765s | 121 |
| 13 | Yuki Tsunoda | RB | 1:34.136s | +2.792s | 64 |
| 14 | Valtteri Bottas | Sauber | 1:34.431s | +3.087s | 68 |
| 15 | Alexander Albon | Williams | 1:34.587s | +3.243s | 40 |
| 16 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine | 1:34.677s | +3.333s | 60 |
| 17 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | 1:35.692s | +4.348s | 66 |
| 18 | Nico Hulkenberg | Haas | 1:35.906s | +4.562s | 82 |