Everything that happened on the first morning of the 2024 Formula 1 test

Max Verstappen put Red Bull's new 2024 Formula 1 car out front in Bahrain, with the ten teams covering more than 500 laps on the first morning of pre-season testing.

Key moments

• Verstappen is seven tenths clear on the first morning
• Albon stops Williams late
• The first chance to see 2024 technology in more detail

The first morning of 2024 testing allowed a closer look at the RB20, which was described at its launch last week as a “very aggressive” evolution of the RB19 that won all but one of last year's 22 grands prix.

These new details included the halo inlets as well as more details on its side design. Red Bull appears to have split its entry into two for the 2024 car.

While the RB20 looked like a small group early in the four-hour session, it looked more cooperative when Verstappen switched to the C3 mid-range tire with yellow sidewalls and set the fastest pace through the first two hours.

Verstappen, who returned to Red Bull later on Wednesday afternoon, went quicker in the subsequent round and finished the session with a best time of 1:32.548 seconds – meaning he was the only driver to better his lap record on the first day of 2023 (1m32 .548 seconds). 837 BC).

Charles Leclerc was within two tenths of Red Bull at one stage but Verstappen's improvement meant the Ferrari driver finished the session 0.699 seconds clear.

Leclerc experienced several lock-ups and the SF-24 appeared to have some bounce approaching the first turn but his session was trouble-free.

Fernando Alonso was the only other driver within one second of Verstappen's early record, cutting 0.837 seconds. He was the hardest working driver in the morning session, completing 77 laps in the new Aston Martin AMR24.

McLaren had a slow start to the morning but Oscar Piastri covered more than 50 laps on his way to the fourth fastest time, three tenths behind Alonso.

The MCL38 was one of the most anticipated cars to emerge from the pit lane in Bahrain. McLaren was keen to keep the angles it revealed of its new car secret during its launch last week, but it appeared without major differences from the specifications we saw previously.

Yuki Tsunoda was fifth fastest for the renamed RB, ahead of George Russell, who had a low-key session for Mercedes.

Russell spent an extended period of more than half an hour in the Mercedes garage midway through the session but the team said his focus was on learning rather than what he described as “accumulating miles”. Complete 48 laps.

Alex Albon, who finished eighth behind Sauber's Valtteri Bottas, was the only driver to stop on the track during the session.

He parked the Williams FW46 first seen on Tuesday on the outside of Turn 3 with 25 minutes remaining in the session, having slowed on the main straight and then clipped the right-left 1/2 turn at the start of the lap.

The car, which completed 40 laps but had an extensive run with flo-vis paint, was recovered to the Williams garage by the end of the session. Albon was exceptional in setting his best time – 1:34.587 seconds – on the softer C4 compound.

Alpine's Esteban Ocon finished ninth, while Kevin Magnussen – whose Haas team spent some time parked in the garage due to a problem with the fuel system – finished tenth, 3.144 seconds behind Verstappen.

Wednesday morning times

1 Max Verstappen (Red Bull) 1:32.548 sec, C3 tire, 66 laps
2 Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +0.699s, C3, 64 laps
3 Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) +0.837 sec, C3, 77 laps
4 Oscar Piastri (McLaren) +1.110 sec, C3, 57 laps
5 Yuki Tsunoda (RB) +1.588s, C3, 64 laps
6 George Russell (Mercedes) +1.682 sec, C3, 48 laps
7 Valtteri Bottas (Sauber) +1.883 sec, C3, 68 laps
8 Alex Albon (Williams) +2.039s, C4, 40 laps
9 Esteban Ocon (Alpine) +2.129s, C1, 60 laps
10 Kevin Magnussen (Haas) +3.144 sec, C3, 66 laps