F1 Race Event: Bahrain Grand Prix
Race Track: Bahrain International Circuit

Weather: dry  27.4°C
Tarmac: dry  42.7°C
Humidity : 11.0%
Wind : 12.6 km/h NW
Pressure: 1016 bar

The 2023 Formula One season kicked off in Bahrain with the first FP1 session. As teams took to the track for the first time, there were plenty of interesting developments to follow.

Several teams began the session with an aerorack bolted onto their car to check wind tunnel correlation. Meanwhile, the first driver out on the track was Alex Albon, piloting the Williams FW45 on a set of Medium tyres.

After just ten minutes, Fernando Alonso set the fastest lap time with a 1:35.048 on a set of Medium Pirelli tyres. However, it wasn’t until 13 minutes into the session that Williams rookie Logan Sargeant reported smelling something burning in his car.

At that point, Sergio Pérez had taken over as the quickest driver, clocking a 1:34.343 on a set of Medium compound tyres. Alonso had improved to a 1:34.867 but was still second-fastest. In total, fifteen drivers had set a lap time.

Ferrari was also in the midst of testing a new rear wing with just one pillar instead of two. However, after a lot of wobbling, they quickly switched back to the old version.

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Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin AMR23

Halfway through the session, the top 10 order was as follows: 1. Pérez, 1:32.758 min (S), 2. Verstappen, +0.617s (S), 3. Alonso, +2.109s (M), 4. PIastri, +2.239s (S), 5. Hamilton, +2.256s (M), 6. Magnussen, +2.662 (S), 7. Gasly, +2.913s (M), 8. Hulkenberg, +3.107s, (S), 9. Lelcerc, +3.233s (M) 10. Russell, +3.241 (M).

In the final 15 minutes of the session, more cars were fitted with a set of Soft tyres. Pérez remained the fastest, with Verstappen in second and Lando Norris of McLaren in third, 1.407 seconds behind. Both Alfa Romeo’s were fifth and sixth. Interestingly, neither Mercedes nor Ferrari had tried out the Soft compound tyres up to that point, saving them for cooler conditions.

With nine minutes left in the session, Alonso lapped the Bahrain circuit on a set of Soft tyres with the Aston Martin, finishing just 0.438 seconds behind Pérez and securing the second-fastest lap time.

In the final five minutes of the session, Lance Stroll in the Aston Martin (sixth) and Kevin Magnussen (seventh) moved up a few places thanks to the Soft tyres.

Finally, it’s worth noting that the fastest lap time of last year’s FP1 in Bahrain was 1:34.193 min, clocked by Pierre Gasly with the AlphaTauri AT03. As teams continue to test and improve throughout the weekend, it will be interesting to see if they can beat that time this year.

FP1 Times Table 2023 Bahrain GP

P	No	Driver	Team	Time	1st Gap	Laps	Tyres
1	11	Sergio Pérez	Red Bull	1:32,758		21	S
2	14	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin	1:33,196	+0,438s	22	S
3	1	Max Verstappen	Red Bull	1:33,375	+0,617s	21	S
4	4	Lando Norris	McLaren	1:34,165	+1,407s	21	S
5	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	1:34,257	+1,499s	17	M
6	18	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	1:34,298	+1,540s	17	S
7	20	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	1:34,402	+1,644s	20	S
8	24	Zhou Guanyu	Alfa Romeo	1:34,575	+1,817s	18	S
9	77	Valtteri Bottas	Alfa Romeo	1:34,689	+1,931s	20	S
10	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:34,917	+2,159s	13	M
11	63	George Russell	Mercedes	1:34,966	+2,208s	20	M
12	81	Oscar Piastri	McLaren	1:34,997	+2,239s	24	M
13	22	Yuki Tsunoda	AlphaTauri	1:35,015	+2,257s	20	M
14	27	Nico Hülkenberg	Haas	1:35,043	+2,285s	22	S
15	31	Esteban Ocon	Alpine	1:35,105	+2,347s	20	M
16	21	Nyck de Vries	AlphaTauri	1:35,402	+2,644s	25	M
17	10	Pierre Gasly	Alpine	1:35,455	+2,697s	22	M
18	2	Logan Sargeant	Williams	1:35,749	+2,991s	24	H
19	23	Alexander Albon	Williams	1:36,018	+3,260s	15	M
20	55	Carlos Sainz	Ferrari	1:36,072	+3,314s	21	M

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