Max Verstappen Tops Opening Day of 2021 F1 Pre-Season Testing

Max Verstappen survived several wide moments to top the opening day of Formula One’s 2021 pre-season test, topping the timesheets ahead of Lando Norris and Esteban Ocon.

Verstappen endured a tough morning session as he struggled with lock-ups and braking which resulted in several offs, yet managed to recover with a strong afternoon session to top the timesheet with a 1m 30.674 despite a sandstorm causing issues for all drivers participating in the afternoon programme.

McLaren enjoyed a strong day of uninterrupted running as Daniel Ricciardo wound up fastest in the morning session on the C2 tyre, before Lando Norris took the wheel in the afternoon as he found himself second fastest overall and 0.215 seconds off Verstappen with Ricciardo slipping to seventh.

Alpine handed Esteban Ocon a full day of running in which he performed strongly with a mixture of short and long runs, with the Frenchman winding up third fastest overall and 0.472s off Verstappen after a late run on the C4 tyre compound.

Aston Martin endured a tough day with Sebastian Vettel finding himself 13th quickest overall following a morning session in which he focused on understanding the car, before Lance Stroll overcame an electrical issue to finish fourth following a late run on the C3 prototype tyre of which Vettel also set his fastest lap time on too.

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Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz finished fifth fastest after a late flier under the lights to record a 1m 31.919 on C3 tyres as he recovered from an early afternoon spin at Turn 11 after losing the rear on entry.

Alfa Romeo’s Antonio Giovinazzi finished sixth fastest after a strong mix of short and long run programming throughout his afternoon session, whilst teammate – Kimi Raikkonen was first driver to venture out in the morning session yet finished only 12th

AlphaTauri enjoyed a positive day focused on gathering data as Pierre Gasly eventually finished eighth overall with his new rookie teammate, Yuki Tsunoda finishing an impressive ninth in his F1 pre-season test debut.

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Mercedes endured a torrid day by their high standards as a gearbox change limited Bottas to just six laps in the morning as he finished slowest overall, as Hamilton found himself tenth fastest after struggling with grip issues caused by the sandstorm in the afternoon.

Charles Leclerc was only 11th fastest for Ferrari following a strong programme of running in the morning, until a mechanical failure forced him to stop at Turn Four shortly before lunchtime to cause a brief red flag.

Williams finished 14th fastest with their Development Driver, Roy Nissany who spent the day mainly focused on a series of long runs in order to gather data on their updates and tyres rather than sharp fast laps.

Finally, Haas endured a tough day with the team already focusing on their 2022 car as Mick Schumacher finished 16th quickest due to a hydraulic issue mid session in the morning, with Nikita Mazepin finding himself 15th overall following a solid afternoon session.

Here are full results from the first day of testing with the second test set to get underway tomorrow (13 March) from 7am (GMT).

Position	Driver	Team	Time	Total Laps	Tyre
1	Max Verstappen	Red Bull	1m 30.674	139	C3
2	Lando Norris	McLaren	1m 30.889	46	C3
3	Esteban Ocon	Alpine	1m 31.146	129	C4
4	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	1m 31.782	46	T
5	Carlos Sainz	Ferrari	1m 31.919	57	C3
6	Antonio Giovinazzi	Alfa Romeo	1m 31.945	68	C3
7	Daniel Ricciardo	McLaren	1m 32.203	45	C2
8	Pierre Gasly	AlphaTauri	1m 32.231	74	C3
9	Yuki Tsunoda	AlphaTauri	1m 32.727	37	C2
10	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1m 32.912	42	C3
11	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	1m 33.242	59	C3
12	Kimi Raikkonen	Alfa Romeo	1m 33.320	63	C3
13	Sebastian Vettel	Aston Martin	1m 33.742	51	T
14	Roy Nissany	Williams	1m 34.789	83	C3
15	Nikita Mazepin	Haas	1m 34.798	70	C3
16	Mick Schumacher	Haas	1m 36.127	15	C2
17	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	1m 36.850	6	C2