Max Verstappen Gaps Everyone By 1.14 Seconds Already On First Day Of Testing

Max Verstappen dominated both the first and the second session of the first day of pre-season testing in Bahrain by snatching the fastest time.

As everyone points out, the lap times do not completely indicate the actual pace of F1 cars during testing days for various reasons.

Drivers run on various types of tires, with different fuel loads and different setups, and the majority of the teams don't focus on the fastest time during testing.

However, when one driver gaps everyone by more than a second, it is worth pointing out. Max Verstappen was on it from the morning session when he set the fastest lap time of 1:32.548 - about seven-tenths faster than Charles Leclerc in the second place.

But this time was improved by Lando Norris during the evening session, who put in the time of 1:32.484, which might have triggered the Dutchman.

The triple-World Champion put in a lap time almost a second faster than Norris shortly after, and then later, 1,14 seconds faster. By doing so, he secured the top of the leaderboard by a comfortable margin on the first day of pre-season testing.

Verstappen was one of the only two drivers (including George Russell) who ran both during the morning and evening sessions. All the other drivers exchanged with their teammates during the lunch break.

All in all, the 26-year-old completed 142 laps - more than anybody. The only driver who could have matched this number was Russell, but he was out of the morning session for more than one hour due to power unit-related issues.

The Dutchman got through the day very smoothly without any significant issues. Tomorrow (Thursday, the 22nd), he will leave the RB20 seat to his teammate Sergio Perez for the morning.

Later on, Verstappen will get back into the Red Bull for the evening session, and the last day (Friday, 23rd) of testing will be dedicated to Checo, just like Wednesday was dedicated to the Dutchman.