Testing report
Formula 1 Bahrain April testing
Verstappen beats Schumacher to top first day of Bahrain test
Max Verstappen topped the first day of Formula 1’s post-Bahrain Grand Prix test, half a second clear of Ferrari debutant Mick Schumacher.
Scott Mitchell
Edited: Apr 2, 2019, 3:54 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
The first three hours of the test were held in mostly dry conditions, with the exception of one shower, and Romain Grosjean was quickest at that point.
However, persistent rain after midday threatened to turn the rest of Tuesday into a washout.
With teams not nominating wet or intermediate tyres for the test they had no option but to wait for the weather to turn, with valuable hours passing by.
Eventually, conditions improved late in the afternoon to allow little over an hour of dry running at the end of the day.
Schumacher, the son of seven-time Formula 1 world champion Michael, was quick to hit the track once it finally dried.
The Formula 2 rookie, making his F1 test debut, had only managed 33 laps before rain halted Ferrari’s programme earlier in the day.
However, he was at least able to add another 21 laps to his tally at the end, as well as rise from eighth in the order to second using the softest of Pirelli’s five compounds.
Schumacher’s best time, a 1m29.976s, was half a second slower than Verstappen, whose own improvement – a 1m29.379s on the middle compound – after the rain beat Grosjean’s benchmark by 1.6s.
McLaren driver Lando Norris took over from teammate Carlos Sainz Jr for the second half of the day but only got 17 laps thanks to the weather.
Using C3s like Verstappen, he was still able to join the Red Bull driver and Schumacher in leapfrogging Grosjean, setting a 1m30.800s to go third.
Grosjean ended the day fourth ahead of Toro Rosso’s Alex Albon, with neither driver improving on their early C3-tyre efforts before the rain.
Bahrain GP winner Lewis Hamilton completed more laps than any other driver (71) and set the sixth-best time in the Mercedes, also using the middle compound.
On Wednesday his car will be driven by George Russell, who ended Tuesday slowest for Williams.
Fernando Alonso’s first day behind the wheel of the 2019 McLaren comprised 50 laps of running as he got to work on Pirelli’s tyre development.
The two-time world champion will be back in action on Wednesday, but again on Pirelli duty.
Session results
Pos. Driver Car/Engine Time Laps 1 Max Verstappen Red Bull – Honda 1'29.379 (C3) 62 2 Mick Schumacher Ferrari 1'29.976 (C5) 56 3 Lando Norris McLaren – Renault 1'30.800 (C3) 22 4 Romain Grosjean Haas – Ferrari 1'30.982 (C3) 42 5 Alexander Albon Toro Rosso – Honda 1'31.089 (C3) 71 6 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1'31.156 (C3) 77 7 Daniel Ricciardo Renault 1'31.584 (C4) 45 8 Lance Stroll Racing Point – Mercedes 1'31.964 (C3) 32 9 Carlos Sainz McLaren – Renault 1'32.059 (C2) 32 10 Antonio Giovinazzi Alfa Romeo – Ferrari 1'32.067 (C3) 53 11 Fernando Alonso* McLaren – Renault 1'32.207 64 12 Pietro Fittipaldi Haas – Ferrari 1'32.708 (C3) 20 13 Robert Kubica Williams – Mercedes 1'33.290 (C3) 19 14 Daniil Kvyat* Toro Rosso – Honda 1'33.653 45 15 George Russell Williams – Mercedes 1'33.682 (C3) 27
* denotes drivers testing for Pirelli
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article McLaren loads up on softs in China F1 tyre picks
Next article Alonso: McLaren's 2019 F1 car better "in every aspect"
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Scott Mitchell
Alfa Romeo must do better in "chaotic" races - Vasseur
Formula 1
Formula 1
Alfa Romeo must do better in "chaotic" races - Vasseur
Honda: Verstappen relationship 'like a young Senna'
Formula 1
Formula 1
Honda: Verstappen relationship 'like a young Senna'
Key team personnel shouldn't be F1 boss - Ferrari
Formula 1
Formula 1
Key team personnel shouldn't be F1 boss - Ferrari
More from
Max Verstappen
Red Bull drivers fear Mexico start, Max Verstappen jokes: “A Le Mans start would be just as quick”
Formula 1
Formula 1
Mexican GP
Red Bull drivers fear Mexico start, Max Verstappen jokes: “A Le Mans start would be just as quick”
More from
Red Bull Racing
Max Verstappen clears the air with Liam Lawson, but stays tight-lipped on Racing Bulls F1 seat
Formula 1
Formula 1
Mexican GP
Max Verstappen clears the air with Liam Lawson, but stays tight-lipped on Racing Bulls F1 seat
When Red Bull expects to start using its long-awaited new F1 wind tunnel
Formula 1
Formula 1
Mexican GP
When Red Bull expects to start using its long-awaited new F1 wind tunnel
Latest news
Honda Racing US echoes Porsche urgency over unified 2030 rules framework
IMSA
IMSA IMSA 2 h
Honda Racing US echoes Porsche urgency over unified 2030 rules framework
Toto Wolff: Two sponsors left Mercedes after promoting Kimi Antonelli into F1
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Mexican GP
2 h
Toto Wolff: Two sponsors left Mercedes after promoting Kimi Antonelli into F1
Winners and losers from the penultimate round of 2026 NASCAR Cup season at Martinsville
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Martinsville II
2 h
Winners and losers from the penultimate round of 2026 NASCAR Cup season at Martinsville
Cadillac to investigate high-speed Mexico GP failure that led to angry Valtteri Bottas reaction
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Mexican GP
2 h
Cadillac to investigate high-speed Mexico GP failure that led to angry Valtteri Bottas reaction
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe