Bahrain pre-season test: Day one “I am looking forward to continuing to put the MCL38 through its paces”
Bahrain International Circuit, Wednesday, 21 February
Hear from McLaren Formula 1 drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, as well as Head of Testing José Manuel López, after day one of pre-season testing.
| Laps/km/miles | 73 (245.489 miles/395.076 km) |
| Fastest lap | 1m32.484s (2nd) |
“First of all, I’m really happy to be back behind the wheel. Our first test with the new car felt very enjoyable and it was reliable on track, so all in all, a positive day. We worked through a number of items during the session, as expected in testing, sticking to the plan and executing it well. There are still two long days of testing ahead of us and still a lot to improve and set up, but it’s all moving in the right direction. I am looking forward to driving again tomorrow and continuing to put the MCL38 through its paces.”
| Laps/km/miles | 57 (191.683 miles/308.484 km) |
| Fastest lap | 1m33.658s (9th) |
“First day of testing done for me and it all went relatively smoothly. It was a pretty solid day, and it was nice to be back on track in representative conditions. We’ll see what we can work through over the remainder of the test and aim to get a good understanding of the car by the end of it.
“The car felt reasonable and I would say there are some differences from last year which are moving in the right direction. It’s been a decent start to testing, and I look forward to getting back in the car for day two tomorrow.”
José Manuel López, Head of Testing
“It’s been a good first day for testing for us. We completed a lot of mileage with 130 laps on the board. Both Lando and Oscar completed their programmes. We started the day running some aero rakes and learning about the aerodynamic performance of the MCL38. A lot of set-up work was done in the morning with Oscar, and then in the afternoon with Lando we focused on longer runs. The car ran reliably on track all day, and we completed all of our planned running. We’ve collected a lot of information which we will look through this evening, in preparation for the next two days of testing. We’re all looking forward to getting back on track tomorrow.”
Look the part!
Today's official testing times
| 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing | 1:31.344s | 143 laps |
| 2 | Lando Norris | McLaren | 1:32.484s | 73 laps |
| 3 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | 1:32.584s | 69 laps |
| 4 | Daniel Ricciardo | RB | 1:32.599s | 52 laps |
| 5 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | 1:33.805s | 61 laps |
| 6 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | 1:33.007s | 54 laps |
| 7 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:33.247s | 64 laps |
| 8 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | 1:33.385s | 77 laps |
| 9 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | 1:33.658s | 57 laps |
| 10 | Zhou Guanyu | Sauber | 1:33.871s | 63 laps |
| 11 | Logan Sargent | Willams | 1:33.882s | 21 laps |
| 12 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1:34.109s | 122 laps |
| 13 | Yuki Tsunoda | RB | 1:34.136s | 64 laps |
| 14 | Valtteri Bottas | Sauber | 1:34.431s | 68 laps |
| 15 | Alexander Albon | Williams | 1:34.587s | 40 laps |
| 16 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine | 1:34.677s | 60 laps |
| 17 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas | 1:35.692s | 66 laps |
| 18 | Nico Hulkenberg | Haas | 1:35.906s | 82 laps |
Test dates
Three days (21 - 23 February, 2024).
