Verstappen fifth in Bahrain first training, Gasly sets fastest time

Max Verstappen set the fifth fastest time in the first free practice of 2022 on Friday. Preparations for the opening race in Bahrain started on Friday afternoon. Pierre Gasly was the fastest in the first free practice with his AlphaTauri.

The training results certainly did not provide insight into the new battle order in Formula 1. For example, Gasly set his best time of 1m34.193s with the fastest soft tires, but Verstappen did not. The Dutchman was half a second slower than his former French teammate.

Both Ferraris competed only in midfield, finishing second and third respectively. Charles Leclerc was three tenths slower than Gasly, with Carlos Sainz just four tenths behind.

Mercedes still seemed to have the same problems as on the test days in Bahrain a week ago. George Russell and Lewis Hamilton’s cars were still bouncing on the straight. Russell was fourth on the soft tires while Hamilton finished sixth on the same tyre.

Loose parts cause downtime

Many teams still used free practice for testing. For example, in the first phase, Leclerc drove his car with a large rack of measuring instruments. Alp tried new pontoons. However, things didn’t go so well for Esteban Ocon. The French driver lost some of his bodywork in the opening stage of practice and then the straight was swept away. Therefore, the session was interrupted for about ten minutes.

Except for a few short minutes, the training went without incident. The key off-track moment came for Leclerc, who lost control of his Ferrari at high speed. Monegask was able to continue unscathed.

Second free practice at 16:00 (Dutch time).


Bahrain GP times

  • Friday 4:00 PM: Second Free Trial
  • Saturday 13:00: Third free run
  • Saturday 16:00: Qualification
  • Sunday 16:00: Race

Source: NU

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