Red Bull at the top, many opponents for Mercedes – and Sebastian Vettel still without momentum. The opening training of the new Formula 1 season in Bahrain has raised hopes for an exciting start to the season (Sunday, 5 p.m. in the LIVETICKER). Debutant Mick Schumacher also impressed right away in the defeated Haas car and not only left his Russian team-mate Nikita Mazepin behind.
After the first 120 minutes of the season, Max Verstappen was right at the front. The Red Bull driver turned the fastest lap in 1: 30.847 minutes, but was still well behind his own best time (1: 28.960) from the test drives that also took place in Bahrain two weeks ago.
Lando Norris from Great Britain came in second (+0.095 seconds), confirming the test impressions: McLaren could make another leap in performance this season. World champion Lewis Hamilton (+0.235) only came in third, but after the problems in the tests, the Mercedes cars looked much better overall.
“It could have been worse. It will be a real battle with Red Bull throughout the season. At the moment we can still see them a bit ahead,” summed up Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff on the Sky microphone.
Schumacher: “I felt comfortable in the car”
For Vettel (+0.922) it was only enough for 14th place in the Aston Martin, but with a driving error on his fastest lap he missed a significantly better time. His team mate Lance Stroll (+0.546) finished eighth. Vettel is hoping for a “steep learning curve” for his new team after Aston Martin had turned far too few laps during the test drives due to many problems.
Mick Schumacher was 18th as a regular Formula 1 driver on his first outing and distanced Masepin by about one and a half tenths in the second Haas. The son of record world champion Michael Schumacher also left Canadian Nicholas Latifi behind in the more powerful Williams car.
“I felt comfortable in the car, which is a good sign and shows that we have done enough work,” said Schumacher after the practice sessions. “I know there is still a lot to improve on my part. As a driver, I know that I have the tools to improve my lap time. I will work hard on myself to keep improving and learning more . “
Formula 1 – Bahrain-GP: The free practice sessions in the live ticker for reading
Formula 1 – Bahrain GP: Final result, 2nd practice
| rank | Surname | team | time |
| 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing | 1:30,847 |
| 2 | Lando Norris | McLaren Renault | +0.095 |
| 3 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team | +0,235 |
| 4 | Carlos Sainz Jr. | Scuderia Ferrari | +0.280 |
| 5 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team | +0,371 |
| 6 | Daniel Ricciardo | McLaren Renault | +0,383 |
| 7 | Yuki Tsunoda | Scuderia Alpha Tauri | +0,447 |
| 8 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin F1 Team | +0,546 |
| 9 | Pierre Gasly | Scuderia Alpha Tauri | +0.636 |
| 10 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull Racing | +0,656 |
| 11 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine F1 Team | +0,754 |
| 12 | Charles Leclerc | Scuderia Ferrari | +0.765 |
| 13 | Antonio Giovinazzi | Alfa Romeo Racing | +0.893 |
| 14 | Sebastian Vettel | Aston Martin F1 Team | +0,922 |
| 15 | Fernando Alonso | Alpine F1 Team | +0,923 |
| 16 | Kimi Raikkonen | Alfa Romeo Racing | +1.015 |
| 17 | George Russell | Williams Martini Racing | +1,484 |
| 18 | Mick Schumacher | Haas F1 Team | +2,450 |
| 19 | Nicholas Latifi | Williams Martini Racing | +2,553 |
| 20 | Nikita Mazepin | Haas F1 Team | +2,602 |
End of 2nd training:
Surprises are on the horizon! Bottas complains about his car and describes it as undrivable. In contrast, Verstappen is in strong early form and is driving faster than Hamilton around the Bahrain International Circuit in the third time measurement in a row. In the long runs, both drivers show themselves in a similar form.
Max Verstappen wins the 2nd practice session of the Bahrain Grand Prix:
As expected, the long runs do not change the set best times. So Verstappen leads with 1: 39.847 just under a tenth ahead of the again strong Lando Norris in the McLaren. Behind them, perhaps somewhat surprisingly, are Carlos Sainz and finally Valtteri Bottas in fifth place.
Turn 10 remains dangerous:
Alonso almost slips off the track in the tenth corner. This season, too, there are signs of problems at this narrow point.
More smoking tires:
At Hamilton, too, it tears the front tires. On the right-hand side, the Pirelli slips across the asphalt for what feels like an eternity before it starts rotating again.
Another brake:
As at the beginning of the session, Mazepin’s front wheel stops after braking. The Russian is not exactly careful with his rubbers, but you are used to that from the F2.
Ferrari duel:
Within the Scuderia, Sainz is increasingly pulling Leclerc away. At peak times he is already almost five tenths ahead of Monegassen and now also outpaces him in the long run.
Problems in green:
Both Stroll and Vettel drive extremely slowly around the lap. You almost hope that they will have left the track for a short time so that the times make sense at all. Stroll creeps around the track three and a half seconds slower than the top trio.
Pérez follows suit:
For a short period of time, Verstappen and Hamilton were the only drivers who could get about 1.37: 5 while everyone else couldn’t get past 1:38. But now Pérez joins them, who obviously also gets along well with the yellow tires.
New times:
For the long run, the field of drivers seems to be clearly mixed up. The first times show that Verstappen is still ahead of the Silver Arrows, but the Alpine team around Alonso and Ocon is already following behind. These trainings do not provide clear predictions, especially at the beginning of the season.
Relaxed racing:
The drivers do their laps on the medium or even hard tires and get used to the track and several laps at a time. Not much more should actually happen here.
Raikkonen is driving again:
After his little crash, Raikkonen is back behind the wheel. The mechanics were able to replace his front wing and give him at least a few more laps.
Alpine weak again:
When it comes to top speeds, Alpine is still not pulling out any trees. Alonso is only in 15th place in the ranking, while Ocon only scratches the top 10 behind Sergio Pérez.
Only 20 left:
There are only 20 minutes left on the clock. Starts are rehearsed with yellow tires and as many laps as possible are made.
Third debutant in top 10:
Things are going better with the third F2 pilot from last year. Yuki Tsunoda is currently seventh fastest in his AlphaTauri and is therefore ahead of team-mate Pierre Gasly.
Schumacher lagging behind:
Haas can still not cause any surprises. Schumacher stays ahead of Mazepin, who ruined his tires early with his spin, but drives the lap almost 2.5 seconds slower than Verstappen
Preparation for long runs:
Once again, almost all racing teams agree to take a short break to prepare for the long runs. This means that further best times are now a long way off. We move from the qualifying simulation to the race.
Not in top form yet:
Valtteri Bottas joins his team-mate in the pits after failing to reach his personal best. At the moment the Finn is on P5.
Ricciardo arrives at:
The more laps he does, the stronger Daniel Ricciardo gets in the McLaren. He is already driving the last sector faster than Norris and is at least sixth.
Interim conclusion:
With little gasoline and red tires, the teams simulate tomorrow’s qualifying as best they can. In this, Verstappen takes the lead in front of Norris and Hamilton. They are followed by Carlos Sainz in a Ferrari, as well as Bottas, Tsunoda, Stroll and Gasly. The AlphaTauris are already indicating their danger.
Verstappen goes for it!
Just behind Norris, Verstappen crosses the finish line and brings Red Bull to the top. At 0.00: 95, the lead over Lando Norris is extremely narrow.
New best lap from Lando Norris:
The McLaren caused a bit of a stir during training. Today, Norris will be the first to break the 1:30 and take the lead ahead of Hamilton.
Little gasoline:
The teams should fill their cars with less fuel in this second practice session to simulate qualifying. Accordingly, faster times should be possible the longer the session lasts.
Still restless:
Despite further best times, the Mercedes bolide still looks restless and tends to understeer. It is enough for the lead with 1: 32.082, but could still be cracked.
Problems in the last corner:
Vettel drives half a second slower than Hamilton after driving almost a perfect lap. Shortly before the finish line, however, it tears him a few centimeters too far to the left, so that he still loses a few tenths. This puts him in third place.
Vettel on red:
After many starts on the middle tires, some drivers are now changing to red. The Heppenheimer also drives out of the alley to beat his own best time. Stroll follows him on foot.
Ab in die Box:
The first laps were made and the first data was collected. Now practically all drivers are in the pits and are jacked up.
Yellow flag:
The Finn in the Alfa Romeo not only landed in the gravel, but also lost his front wing. He goes back to the pits very slowly.
New best lap from Valtteri Bottas:
Valtteri Bottas sets a new lap time …
Cooling lap:
Almost no one goes back to the pits. Instead, the drivers apply the brakes to save the tires for a second fast lap. Vettel is currently 10th behind Stroll. Schumacher is 17th ahead of Mazepin and the two Silver Arrows.
Slippery affair:
There are extremely many situations to be seen in which the car briefly swerves. The wind is also relatively strong and could favor a breakaway stern.
New best lap from Max Verstappen:
All drivers drove their laps. Hamilton and Bottas’ times were canceled because they exceeded the track limits. Verstappen is two tenths ahead.
Norris briefly from the track:
At the same point as at Mazepin, Norris tears it off the track, but gets his vehicle under control without turning.
Brief uncertainty:
For a few seconds there is a yellow flag in the second sector. Almost immediately the lights switch back to green. Mazepin turned briefly in the Haas, but continues to drive.
Ocon rehearsing start:
Almost all cars are on the track. Ocon has provided a small queue at the pit exit for all pilots who wanted to rehearse the start of the race.
Start 2. Training:
For the second time that day, al-Manama is going around. The traffic lights are green. Some cars drive directly onto the track. The Alfa Romeos lead the field.
Only 60 minutes:
Here, too, it should be mentioned again that the training sessions only last an hour this season. After the 90 minutes in each of the previous years, there is more time pressure for the teams and less time to get used to the numerous changes to the car, driver and team.
The conditions:
There were no special reports during the first training session. Of course, it is about 28 degrees hot in the desert state, but at 6:00 p.m. local time it is also dry and practically calm. The latter is likely to change over the course of the weekend.
Schumacher far back:
There could be two constants this season as well. Williams and Haas are the last ones after the 1st free practice. While Russell and Latifi already know this feeling, the two debutants Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin still have to get used to it. In what is probably the weakest car in the field, the two only drove behind, with the German losing almost half a second from his teammate.
Norris leads midfield:
Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc mingled in the two top teams. With the third fastest time, Norris made a small exclamation mark for his McLaren team. Leclerc also entered the top five with a slight margin over Sergio Pérez. Behind them are Gasly, Sainz, Ricciardo and Co., with Aston Martin and Sebastian Vettel still not radiating any danger. The Alpine team with returnees Fernando Alonso spent a lot of time in the pits and is accordingly also far behind.
Mercedes still careful:
As in the test drives, Max Verstappen also leads the field after the first free practice session. He took 0.298 seconds from second-placed Valtteri Bottas and is thus quite confidently at the top. Mercedes, on the other hand, has problems with the adapted car, especially in the person of Hamilton. Due to the new underbody, the seven-time world champion still understeers quite often, which is why he tended to be more cautious in the first session.
Formula 1 – Bahrain GP: Final result, 1st practice
| place | Surname | team | time |
| 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing | 1:31,394 |
| 2 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team | +0,298 |
| 3 | Lando Norris | McLaren Renault | +0.503 |
| 4 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes AMG Petronas Formula One Team | +0,527 |
| 5 | Charles Leclerc | Scuderia Ferrari | +0.599 |
| 6 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull Racing | +0,677 |
| 7 | Pierre Gasly | Scuderia Alpha Tauri | +0.801 |
| 8 | Carlos Sainz Jr. | Scuderia Ferrari | +0.972 |
| 9 | Daniel Ricciardo | McLaren Renault | +1,040 |
| 10 | Antonio Giovinazzi | Alfa Romeo Racing | +1.392 |
| 11 | Kimi Raikkonen | Alfa Romeo Racing | +1.740 |
| 12 | Sebastian Vettel | Aston Martin F1 Team | +1,763 |
| 13 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin F1 Team | +1,839 |
| 14 | Yuki Tsunoda | Scuderia Alpha Tauri | +1,935 |
| 15 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine F1 Team | +2,134 |
| 16 | Fernando Alonso | Alpine F1 Team | +2,478 |
| 17 | George Russell | Williams Martini Racing | +2,733 |
| 18 | Nicholas Latifi | Williams Martini Racing | +2,946 |
| 19 | Mick Schumacher | Haas F1 Team | +3,107 |
| 20 | Nikita Masepin | Haas F1 Team | +3,581 |
Bottas faster than Hamilton
Vice World Champion Valtteri Bottas followed in the Mercedes with almost three tenths of a second behind Lando Norris (+0.5 seconds), who initially confirmed the test impressions: McLaren could make another leap in performance this season. World champion Lewis Hamilton (+0.5) came in fourth, the Mercedes cars looked much better overall after the problems in the tests.
For Vettel (+1.7) and his Aston Martin team-mate Lance Stroll (+1.8), it was initially only enough to finish 12th and 13th, but both limited themselves to a few really fast laps and instead gained experience from that the test drives could not be won: Aston Martin had turned far too few laps there due to many problems, in contrast Vettel and Stroll were now among the most diligent drivers in the first practice session.
Schumacher in front of team-mate Mazepin
Mick Schumacher was penultimate on his first outing as a regular Formula 1 driver, but he distanced Mazepin by a good four tenths of a second in the second Haas. The second session in the afternoon should give more information, then the conditions will come a little closer to those in the race on Sunday (5:00 p.m. CEST / Sky): This takes place in the evening hours in cooler conditions. On Friday noon, the air temperatures were still 36 degrees.
End of 1st training
It’s the first session of the season, so of course there isn’t too much meaning behind it. Verstappen at least confirms his good early form, while Lewis Hamilton in particular is still busy with the new underbody of his car and drives rather cautiously. Vettel is also getting used to the new vehicle in 12th place, while Schumacher drives far behind in the Haas, as expected, but at least in front of his teammate.
Verstappen wins the 1st training
The hour has expired and, as in the test drives, Max Verstappen puts on the little crown of the fastest lap. He needed 1: 31.394 for his best time, followed by Valtteri Bottas in the Mercedes with 0.298 and Lando Norris in the McLaren with 0.503 seconds.
Mick in front of Nikita
At the very back are the two Haas drivers. Mick Schumacher takes a good four tenths from his colleague Mazepin.
Next only midfield
At the end of this session, Aston Martin doesn’t seem to be moving much forward either. For some time now, Vettel and Stroll have been doing their laps without improving their times. So it is only enough for places 12 and 13.
Verstappen takes the lead
Max Verstappen sets a new best lap time with 1: 31.394. In the last sector he lost a few tenths, which is still enough for P1. Incidentally, his colleague Sergio Pérez is fastest in the third sector.
Only five more minutes
Shortly before the end, Verstappen goes on a fast lap.
New best lap from Bottas
Valtteri Bottas sets a new lap time …
World champions with patience
Hamilton does not yet take the full risk, does not yet go the possible top speeds. Instead, it slows down earlier than necessary at times.
Vettel intervenes
The German starts his final laps of this session with red tires. Red Bull and Mercedes are also back on the track.
Work on the car
Whereby Valtteri Bottas is still doing a lot of work. The front wing is just being reassembled after readjusting the inside. In addition, the car is still missing the tires.
Patience with the top teams
While Gasly drives up to third place, Hamilton, Bottas, Verstappen and Pérez are still waiting in the pits. They’ll likely be back on the tarmac in the next few minutes.
Norris ahead
Charles Leclerc also tries his hand at Lando Norris’ best time on the red Pirellis, but loses 0.096 on the British in the McLaren. After all, he managed to jump to second place for the moment.
Ricciardo in the new car
After moving to the McLaren, Daniel Ricciardo needs a few more laps to warm up. For the moment he is in third place with the soft tires, but still loses five tenths to team-mate Lando Norris.
Little going on on the route
Almost all teams gather again at the pits to give them another go. Vettel is still out and is in 7th place. After all, Alonso moved up to 11th place.
New best lap from Lando Norris
Lando Norris opened the second part of the training by setting a new best time. His 1: 31.897 should be topped by the competition as well as by himself.
Heck, homeless
After some changes in the rules and regulations, the Silver Arrows are not quite able to get along with their rear end. Hamilton and Bottas understeer comparatively often.
Half is over
As already mentioned, the training sessions only last one hour each. Red Bull and Mercedes lead the sessions without leaning too far out of the window. This is followed by a colorful mix of potential top 3 teams in Leclerc, Gasly and Norris.
What does Alpine do?
Renault’s “successor” spends a lot of time in the pits. After setting the first two rounds, both Esteban Ocon and Fernando Alonso have dropped to the last two places. At least the Frenchman is now back on the track.
Aston Martin in midfield
Lance Stroll and Sebastian Vettel are still quite inconspicuous in the new Aston Martin. The Heppenheimer sets the tenth fastest time, directly followed by his team-mate.
Top team in the box
In addition to Pérez, Hamilton, Verstappen and Bottas have now also entered the pits. Behind him so far is Charles Leclerc in the Ferrari, who might also like this position at the end of the season.
First Schumacher period
The F2 world champion is a relaxed 3.832 seconds behind world champion Lewis Hamilton in the Haas. But that makes him four tenths faster than his Russian team-mate.
Tsunida further back
In his first F1 practice session, Yuki Tsunoda was the third debutant to drive along the Bahrain International Circuit, but inconspicuously placed 13th.
Two debuts
The two new Haas drivers are back on track and should soon give up their times. Both Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin do their rounds.
Hamilton answers
The reigning world champion takes almost four-tenths away from his competition, answering the Red Bulls. A first small duel may begin here. However, Pérez does not take part. He drove back into the pits.
Vettel drives first times
With just a few test laps and a new bolide, the four-time world champion drives straight onto the soft tires. Its distance to the top is still large. He is 1,363 seconds behind Verstappen. Teammate Stroll has not yet driven time.
New best lap from Max Verstappen
The Red Bull underlines its ambitions early in this session. For a moment Bottas drove the fastest lap before Verstappen drove a leisurely 1: 32.591. His teammate Sergio Pérez is in third place.
Pit radio Nicholas Latifi
The Canadian in the Williams has slight technical problems. Apparently something is wrong with the battery.
New best lap from Lewis Hamilton
The English knight Sir Lewis Hamilton also does the honors and has the best time on the asphalt. But with 1: 32.844 he is still far from top form. For comparison: during the test drives, Verstappen already broke the 1:29 mark.
Big leaps
The first times of Alonso, Latifi and Ocon cannot be counted any more than that of Ricciardo and Norris. The McLarens are leading the field so far, but are among other things at 1: 33.361. That will by no means be enough in the long term.
First impression
Serious driving is rarely done at the beginning. Accordingly, Vettel, Leclerc and Co. are already back in the pit lane. The Alpine team apparently pulls through, as well as McLaren and Williams.
Alonso in the lead
The Spanish returnees Fernando Alonso is the first to drive his car into the 60-minute session. His team-mate Ocon follows him immediately, as does a large part of the field of drivers. Only the Red Bulls and Mercedes as well as Gasly and Russell are waiting a little longer.
Start 1. Training
The traffic lights are green, the first training session in al-Manama has started …
Before start:
The sun shines even today over the Kingdom of Bahrain and provides a crisp 32 degrees with a very light wind. The conditions are ideal!
Before start:
The first of 23 (!) Formula 1 races will be held on the Bahrain International Circuit. In the middle of the desert, the focus is always on the wind strength, because wind drifts can cause sand on the route. This is almost exactly 5,412 kilometers long and offers the dangerous curve 10 in the second sector. Shortly after the easier, ninth curve, there are frequent brakes there, which can cost valuable time.
Before start:
The second training session starts after a short break at 3:55 p.m. Afterwards, the first favorites for pole position, which will be held tomorrow, Saturday, could have emerged.
Before start:
Fernando Alonso is making his comeback, Sebastian Vettel is driving his first official laps for Aston Martin – but today his eyes are on another driver: Mick Schumacher. The Filius of Michael is today making his debut in the motorsport premier class. Here you can find background information on Schumi Jr.
Before start:
Hello and welcome to the live ticker for the first two training sessions of the new Formula 1 season. It starts in Bahrain at 12.55 p.m.
Formula 1 – Bahrain GP: The schedule
| date | Time | Event |
| 26th of March | 12:30 p.m. and 3:55 p.m. | 1st & 2nd free practice |
| 27th of March | 12:55 pm | 3. Free practice |
| 27th of March | 4 p.m. | Qualifying |
| 28th March | 17:00 o’clock | run |
F1: Free practice sessions at the Bahrain GP on TV and live stream
RTL no longer has an exclusive partnership with Formula 1. The point of contact in Germany from this season onwards is the pay TV broadcaster Sky , which shows all sessions live in full on the newly launched Sky Sport F1 channel.
With SkyGo , customers of the pay broadcaster can also be there in the live stream. Those who do not have a subscription can unlock the race weekend with the SkyTicket, which is subject to a fee.
You can also follow the events from Bahrain on the Austrian broadcaster ServusTV , which shares the rights in our neighboring country with ORF . ServusTV can be received in Germany both via cable and satellite. Click here for the free livestream.
Formula 1: an overview of the field of drivers
| team | Driver 1 | Driver 2 |
| Mercedes | Lewis Hamilton | Valtteri Bottas |
| Red Bull | Max Verstappen | Sergio Perez |
| McLaren | Daniel Ricciardo | Lando Norris |
| Aston Martin | Sebastian Vettel | Lance Stroll |
| Alpine | Fernando Alonso | Esteban Ocon |
| Ferrari | Charles Leclerc | Carlos Sainz |
| AlphaTauri | Pierre Gasly | Yuki Tsunoda |
| Alfa Romeo | Kimi Raikkonen | Antonio Giovinazzi |
| Haas | Mick Schumacher | Nikita Mazepin |
| Williams | George Russell | Nicholas Latifi |
