F1 testing in Bahrain: Lewis Hamilton takes it slow as Pierre Gasly tops the charts on Day 1

Pierre Gasly was the fastest on the first day of the F1 pre-season test in Bahrain while Lewis Hamilton went P11. The Alpha Tauri driver topped the time-sheets in the afternoon session, as Mercedes and Red Bull drivers were out of contention in terms of fastest laps.

The Frenchman’s fastest lap was clocked at 1 minute 33.902 seconds. The Red Bull sister team driver completed a total of 102 laps, the third-highest total by a driver.

Following Gasly were Ferrari duo Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc, who clocked the second and third-fastest time of the day. Sainz's fastest lap, clocked at 1 minute 34.359 seconds, was four-tenths of a second slower than Gasly’s.

Leclerc, who was the fastest in the morning session, however, was about two-tenths of a second slower than his Spanish team-mate. The two Ferrari drivers racked up a total mileage of 116 laps with the Spaniard completing 52 laps and the Monegasque completing 64 laps.

Aston Martin F1 driver Lance Stroll was the fourth-fastest driver of the day, completing 50 laps. The Canadian, however, brought out the first red flag of the day when the aero-rakes dropped off his car. Meanwhile, his team-mate Sebastian Vettel was eighth-fastest and completed a total of 39 laps.

Williams F1 driver Alexander Albon clocked the fifth-fastest time of the day, completing a total of 104 laps. The Thai-British driver was followed by McLaren driver Lando Norris, who clocked the sixth-fastest lap and completed 49 laps. McLaren driver Daniel Ricciardo, who was supposed to drive in the afternoon session, was unable to get behind the wheel of his car due to an illness.

Alfa Romeo driver Valtteri Bottas clocked the seventh-fastest lap and completed a total of 66 laps. The former Mercedes driver managed to complete more laps than his team-mate Guanyu Zhou. The Chinese rookie driver clocked the 14th-fastest lap and completed 54 laps. Both Alfa Romeo drivers, however, racked up a combined total mileage of 120 laps, a step forward from their last test performance in Barcelona.

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Mercedes and Red Bull F1 team outside top 10 but highest on mileage

Mercedes F1 driver George Russell clocked the ninth-fastest lap and completed a total of 59 laps. Lewis Hamilton, on the other hand, clocked the 11th-fastest lap over 62 laps. Both Silver Arrows drivers racked up a combined total mileage of 121 laps on the W13B, which was the head-turner of the day.

The Brackley squad went extreme with their interpretation of the new regulations and designed a car without sidepods. Although Hamilton and his team-mate Russell were able to complete a decent run, they were behind their rivals Ferrari and Red Bull in terms of mileage.

Red Bull's Sergio Perez, who drove both sessions for the team, clocked the tenth-fastest lap of the day. The Mexican was also the busiest driver of the day, completing a total of 137 laps. Perez, however, brought out the second red flag of the day after skidding into the gravel.

Alpine F1 drivers Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon clocked the 12th and 13th-fastest lap of the day. Alpine’s preseason test woes continued, however, as Alonso’s session was interrupted by a power unit issue. The Spaniard racked up a total of 24 laps while his French team-mate completed a total of 42 laps.

Haas F1 test driver Pietro Fittipaldi drove in the afternoon session and had the slowest lap of the day, classifying 15th on the timesheets. The American team was able to complete only one session where their Brazilian driver completed a total of 47 laps. Haas will get an extra two hours each over the next two days, as they had to skip today's morning session due to freight delays.