P1racenews AI automatic summary:
Hamilton third quickest in early Bahrain running as Lawson leads the way
Liam Lawson was leading the pre-season test at the Bahrain International Circuit halfway through the opening session, setting the pace in his Red Bull debut. Despite cool conditions, Lawson managed a lap time of 1:31.574s on hard tires, with comparisons to last year’s pole position time of 1:29.179s by Max Verstappen. Fernando Alonso briefly held the top spot before Lawson reclaimed it by a three-tenths margin. Lewis Hamilton, in his first outing for Ferrari, was third quickest, 0.476s off the pace after 32 laps. The top seven drivers were within eight-tenths of a second, with Hamilton followed by Yuki Tsunoda, Alex Albon, Jack Doohan, and Nico Hulkenberg. Further down the order, there was a notable lack of pace, with rookie Kimi Antonelli ninth quickest and Oliver Bearman last, 4.045s behind.
