The dutch Max Verstappen (Red Bull) dominated the first day of action of the F1 version 2021 after being the fastest in the two free practice sessions of the Bahrain Grand Prix.
As it happened a few weeks ago also in Sakhir With pre-season testing, Verstappen watched his rivals from the top of the timesheets. In the first session he established 1:31.394, while in the second he improved it with a record of 1:30.847.
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In initial practice he outstripped the Finn Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) for 298/1000. In the second, meanwhile, his escort was the English Lando Norris (McLaren) to 95/1000.
The champion Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) finished fourth in the first outing half a second behind the fastest and third in the remaining 235/1000 of his Red Bull rival.
The best rookie of the day was the Japanese Yuki tsunoda (AlphaTauri), 14th and 7th, respectively. The German Mick Schumacher and Russian Nikita mazepin (both from Haas) were at the bottom of both runs.
Since this year, Friday's practice sessions have one hour each instead of 90 minutes, something that squeezed the drivers and teams to the fullest to find the ideal set-up for their cars.
FERNANDO ALONSO AND HIS AGE
The Spanish Fernando Alonso (Alpine), who finished 16th and 15th, was a bit annoyed that his return to the F1 at 39 it is something that predominates in his talks with the press. In this regard, he highlighted: “So far I'm enjoying myself and I know that the recurring theme is my age and my return, which surprises me a bit. I am not that old, the world champion and dominator of this sport is 36 years old, I am not 20 years older or something like that to repeat this theme forever ”.
CORONAVIRUS IN THE ASTON MARTIN TEAM
Two Aston Martin team staff members tested positive for coronavirus and are in quarantine in Bahrain. The team, which did not provide the names of the infected people, explained that they implemented additional security measures. It is worth remembering that due to the pandemic, the teams are operating in bubbles and are tested frequently.
PRACTICE 2 - BAHRAIN GRAND PRIZE 2021
| pos. | PILOT | WEATHER | DIF. | VTAS. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1:30.847 | 23 | ||
| 2 | 1:30.942 | +0.095s | 25 | |
| 3 | 1:31.082 | +0.235s | 24 | |
| 4 | 1:31.127 | +0.280s | 26 | |
| 5 | 1:31.218 | +0.371s | 23 | |
| 6 | 1:31.230 | +0.383s | 22 | |
| 7 | 1:31.294 | +0.447s | 23 | |
| 8 | 1:31.393 | +0.546s | 24 | |
| 9 | 1:31.483 | +0.636s | 27 | |
| 10 | 1:31.503 | +0.656s | 23 | |
| 11 | 1:31.601 | +0.754s | 24 | |
| 12 | 1:31.612 | +0.765s | 26 | |
| 13 | 1:31.740 | +0.893s | 27 | |
| 14 | 1:31.769 | +0.922s | 26 | |
| 15 | 1:31.770 | +0.923s | 24 | |
| 16 | 1:31.862 | +1.015s | 15 | |
| 17 | 1:32.331 | +1.484s | 28 | |
| 18 | 1:33.297 | +2.450s | 24 | |
| 19 | 1:33.400 | +2.553s | 28 | |
| 20 | 1:33.449 | +2.602s | 19 |
PRACTICE 1 - BAHRAIN GRAND PRIZE 2021
| pos. | PILOT | WEATHER | DIF. | VTAS. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1:31.394 | 12 | ||
| 2 | 1:31.692 | +0.298s | 17 | |
| 3 | 1:31.897 | +0.503s | 20 | |
| 4 | 1:31.921 | +0.527s | 15 | |
| 5 | 1:31.993 | +0.599s | 14 | |
| 6 | 1:32.071 | +0.677s | 15 | |
| 7 | 1:32.195 | +0.801s | 23 | |
| 8 | 1:32.366 | +0.972s | 15 | |
| 9 | 1:32.434 | +1.040s | 20 | |
| 10 | 1:32.786 | +1.392s | 16 | |
| 11 | 1:33.134 | +1.740s | 18 | |
| 12 | 1:33.157 | +1.763s | 21 | |
| 13 | 1:33.233 | +1.839s | 20 | |
| 14 | 1:33.329 | +1.935s | 21 | |
| 15 | 1:33.528 | +2.134s | 20 | |
| 16 | 1:33.872 | +2.478s | 18 | |
| 17 | 1:34.127 | +2.733s | 22 | |
| 18 | 1:34.340 | +2.946s | 22 | |
| 19 | 1:34.501 | +3.107s | 16 | |
| 20 | 1:34.975 | +3.581s | 16 |
