Sergio Perez comfortably led the way as Formula 1 officially got underway in 2023 with the first practice session from the opening round in Bahrain.
READ MORE: Bahrain GP FP1 – Session Report
Red Bull’s ominous-looking pre-season speed was confirmed by the Mexican’s pace-setting time being four-tenths quicker than anybody else could muster.
Aston Martin’s impressive testing period was backed up by Fernando Alonso splitting the Red Bull drivers to wound up second, with the returning Lance Stroll also inside the top six.
The session witnessed Ferrari struggle, as Carlos Sainz suffered a huge spin on his way to being classified as the slowest driver of all.
| Position | Driver | Team | Time | Gap | Laps | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
|
Sergio Perez | Red Bull | 1:32.758 | ||||
| 2 |
|
Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | 1:33.196 | 0.438 | |||
| 3 |
|
Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 1:33.375 | 0.617 | |||
| 4 |
|
Lando Norris | McLaren | 1:34.165 | 1.407 | |||
| 5 |
|
Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:34.257 | 1.499 | |||
| 6 |
|
Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | 1:34.298 | 1.540 | |||
| 7 |
|
Kevin Magnussen | Haas | 1:34.402 | 1.644 | |||
| 8 |
|
Guanyu Zhou | Alfa Romeo | 1:34.575 | 1.817 | |||
| 9 |
|
Valtteri Bottas | Alfa Romeo | 1:34.689 | 1.931 | |||
| 10 |
|
Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:34.917 | 2.159 | |||
| 11 |
|
George Russell | Mercedes | 1:34.966 | 2.208 | |||
| 12 |
|
Oscar Piastri | McLaren | 1:34.997 | 2.239 | |||
| 13 |
|
Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri | 1:35.015 | 2.257 | |||
| 14 |
|
Nico Hulkenberg | Haas | 1:35.043 | 2.285 | |||
| 15 |
|
Esteban Ocon | Alpine | 1:35.105 | 2.347 | |||
| 16 |
|
Nyck de Vries | AlphaTauri | 1:35.402 | 2.644 | |||
| 17 |
|
Pierre Gasly | Alpine | 1:35.455 | 2.697 | |||
| 18 |
|
Logan Sargeant | Williams | 1:35.749 | 2.991 | |||
| 19 |
|
Alex Albon | Williams | 1:36.018 | 3.260 | |||
| 20 |
|
Carlos Sainz Jr | Ferrari | 1:36.072 | 3.314 |
