Champion Verstappen tops first day of F1 pre-season testing

Formula One champion Max Verstappen of Red Bull topped the first day of pre-season testing in Bahrain on Thursday ahead of two-time world champion Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin.
The Dutch driver completed 157 laps across the morning and afternoon sessions, with a best time of 1 minute 32.837 seconds. Red Bull kept Verstappen in the car all day, while the majority of teams opted to split their running over the two sessions.
"We could really focus on the car, try a few things, to understand also the new tyres for this year. We got loads of running during the day when it was really hot, or kind of hot, and in the evening as well – so a pretty okay day," Verstappen was quoted by the F1 official website.
"[The car is] a bit of an evolution from last year. I think last year was more a time where you were really adapting to the car, really understanding what you had to do," he added.
Verstappen this believes "it's already a much easier start for everyone" thanks to "all the knowledge from last year," when F1 made major changes to its car regulations and teams saw themselves with a blank sheet of paper.
Alonso, who shared testing duties with reserve driver Felipe Drugovich, was 0.029 second off the pace after completing the afternoon session.
Drugovich replaced regular Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll, who suffered an accident whilst training on a bike in preparation for the season. It's still unclear whether Stroll will be fit for the opening Bahrain Grand Prix on March 5.
Ferrari drivers Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc end up third and fourth respectively, while Mercedes were sixth with seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton and ninth with George Russell.
Among the rookies, Logan Sargeant of Williams posted the best time and finished 10th, while Nico Hülkenberg of Haas, who's returning after three years away from the regular grid, was 11th.
Second day of testing is on Friday, with the last two sessions scheduled for Saturday.