Norris surprises with the best time at the Formula 1 test in Bahrain!

Norris surprises with the best time at the Formula 1 test in Bahrain!

Formula 1 testing began in Bahrain on February 26, 2025 with an exciting first day that featured unexpected challenges and impressive performances. Lando Norris set the best time of 1:30.430 minutes, leaving George Russell (+0.157) and world champion Max Verstappen (+0.244) behind. Charles Leclerc rounded out the top quartet, while Carlos Sainz Jr. took fifth place as a neo-Williams driver. In the morning, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, a newcomer to Mercedes, had set the fastest lap, which raised the hopes of German fans. For detailed results reported Car Motor and Sport.

Incident and weather surprises

However, the test day was not without excitement. A power outage caused by a failing substation near the track shut down the afternoon session for over an hour. In consultation with the teams, those responsible decided to extend the test time by one hour to compensate for the failure. Furthermore, a light drizzle caused additional complications, with some teams including Haas and Aston Martin having prepared rain tires. However, this rain had little impact on the track as the drivers continued to do their laps, such as Isack Hadjar, who stayed in the race despite a 360 spin.

Conditions were cooler than expected, with asphalt temperatures at just 17.7 degrees. Despite this, the drivers took the opportunity to set good times as the track gained more and more grip towards the end of the day. While Liam Lawson finished eighth on the day, teams were still cautious with their performance ratings. The remaining two days of testing therefore promise to continue to be exciting as the teams prepare for the upcoming season. The second test session starts on Thursday at 8 a.m. German time.