Red Bull driver Liam Lawson led the way just past the halfway point in the opening session of Formula 1 pre-season testing in Bahrain.
A medium tyre (C3) lap by Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso had lifted him four hundredths above Lawson, but he responded just a minute after the two-hour point in the four hour session to go three tenths clear.
Our first trackside impressions of the 2025 F1 cars are available now in The Race Members' Club on Patreon - get 90% off your first month
The new Red Bull RB21, which has raised eyebrows by looking eerily similar to last year's RB20, has looked potent, or at least as potent as anything can look on the first morning of testing, in Lawson's hands.
This was reflected both in laptimes - Lawson's standout times were being set despite him running hard C2 tyres while most of the field is on medium C3s - and trackside impressions.
Ferrari newcomer Lewis Hamilton, who spent a spell in first place early on, had posted another improvement to end up third, followed by Yuki Tsunoda (Racing Bulls), Alex Albon (Williams), Jack Doohan (Alpine) and Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber).
The leading four teams had been split by just half a second or so before Lawson's improvement.
All 10 teams are logging solid mileage to start the test, either on the cusp of the 20-lap mark or well past it.
Results:
1 Lawson
2 Alonso
3 Hamilton
4 Tsunoda
5 Albon
6 Doohan
7 Hulkenberg
8 Antonelli
9 Piastri
10 Bearman
