Mercedes teenage rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli has set the quickest time in an uneventful morning session on the first day of Formula 1 preseason testing in Bahrain.
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Antonelli, the most highly anticipated debutant since Oscar Piastri, queued at the end of pit lane to ensure he was first on track in 2025, and he bookended his efforts with the quickest time before breaking for lunch.
The Italian’s best effort of 1 minutes 31.428 seconds was 0.121 seconds quicker than next-best Liam Lawson for Red Bull Racing.
Lawson provided the day’s only spin, losing control of his RB21 exiting turn 3 and rotating off the road.
He stopped just short of the gravel and was able to continue, but he ruined a set of tyres, forcing him to limp back to pit lane for a set change.
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Alex Albon was third, just 0.013 seconds further back, for Williams.
Yuki Tsunoda, fourth in the order and 0.182 seconds off the pace, was the most prolific lap-setter, completing 78 tours of the Bahrain International Circuit, far more than the 57 laps of the Bahrain Grand Prix.
Reliability during the first of six testing sessions during the three-day program was high, with every team bar Aston Martin and Sauber completing a grand prix distance with ease.
Aston Martin, piloted by Fernando Alonso through to the lunch break, lost significant time in the garage working on an issue in the cockpit and reconfiguring the car after the Spaniard’s opening salvo of laps.
The green team, which hopes to close the gap to the frontrunners this year, completed 46 laps over four hours.
Sauber came close to the 57-lap race distance, with Nico Hülkenberg calling it a day after 55 largely untroubled laps.
Lewis Hamilton ended his first substantive session in this year’s Ferrari fifth and 0.406 seconds off the pace after 70 laps.
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Jack Doohan, who spent the early hours at the top of the order for Alpine, was sixth ahead of Alonso and Oscar Piastri, who was slow to build mileage early in the session as his McLaren team worked on setting up a car it’s billing as significantly different to last year’s title-winning machine.
Hülkenberg was ninth ahead of British rookie Oliver Bearman in his Haas.
All 10 teams will switch drivers during the break, with George Russell (Mercedes), Max Verstappen (Red Bull Racing), Carlos Sainz (Williams), Isack Hadjar (Racing Bulls), Charles Leclerc (Ferrari), Pierre Gasly (Alpine), Lance Stroll (Aston Martin), Lando Norris (McLaren), Gabriel Bortoleto (Sauber) and Esteban Ocon (Haas) set to take the wheel.
Testing times, day 1, session 1
1. Mercedes (Antonelli): 1:31.428
2. Red Bull Racing (Lawson): 1:31.560
3. Williams (Albon): 1:31.573
4. Racing Bulls (Tsunoda): 1:31.610
5. Ferrari (Hamilton): 1:31.834
6. Alpine (Doohan): 1:31.841
7. Aston Martin (Alonso): 1:31.874
8. McLaren (Piastri): 1:32.084
9. Sauber (Hulkenberg): 1:32.169
10. Haas (Bearman): 1:35.522
Testing laps, day 1, session 1
1. Mercedes (Antonelli): 78 laps
2. Racing Bulls (Tsunoda): 78 laps
3. Haas (Bearman): 72 laps
4. Ferrari (Hamilton): 70 laps
5. Alpine (Doohan): 68 laps
6. McLaren (Piastri): 66 laps
7. Williams (Albon): 63 laps
8. Red Bull Racing (Lawson): 58 laps
9. Sauber (Hulkenberg): 55 laps
10. Aston Martin (Alonso): 46 laps
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