P1racenews AI automatic summary:
Max Verstappen dominated the opening day of pre-season testing for the 2024 Formula 1 season in Bahrain, lapping over a
The reigning World Champion led in the morning session, but Lando Norris overtook him early in the afternoon by 0.064s. Verstappen reclaimed the top spot, setting a 1:31.662s time, 0.882s faster than Norris. He extended his lead to 1.140s with another improvement. Despite just testing, Verstappen logged 142 laps behind the wheel of the RB20. Norris held onto second place, with Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc rounding off the top ten. Mercedes struggled, with George Russell in 12th place, while Haas drivers lagged behind significantly. Hulkenberg’s incident with Stroll’s mirror and the absence of Perez and Hamilton from the session marked some of the day’s notable events.
