How Red Bull seized control of F1 2021's testing narrative

Red Bull logged the most laps and topped the timesheets after the first day of Formula 1's Bahrain pre-season test as Mercedes had a disappointing start. Drawing early conclusions is always a dangerous game, but plenty of insight can still be gleaned...

Alex Kalinauckas Mar 13, 2021, 12:07 AM

Upd: Mar 13, 2021, 12:29 AM

Formula 1 is back – but the first day of 2021 pre-season testing at Bahrain proved to be a little different than the recent entries in the historical formbook.

For a start, the test is being held in the Middle East and not the usual Barcelona venue as a result of the 2021 calendar starting in Bahrain thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic’s continued impact on regular sporting schedules. But there is some merit to the argument for a track in this region to always host pre-season testing given the unpredictable weather in Europe at this time of year.

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Author Alex Kalinauckas

Alex Kalinauckas is Autosport's Grand Prix Editor, covering every Formula 1 race since the start of 2020. After completing a master's degree in journalism at Goldsmiths College University of London in 2014, he worked for a range of motorsport and technology publications while covering national racing as an Autosport freelancer.

A lifelong motorsport fan - no one in his family can explain quite how or why such a development first occurred - Alex joined the Autosport staff in April 2017 as the magazine’s Assistant Editor covering Formula 2 and GP3, before being made Formula E correspondent and Autosport.com’s Plus Editor in March 2018. He lives in north-east London and is constantly frustrated by the Central Line.