Verstappen surprise as data analysis offers Red Bull early hope

Max Verstappen was one of the big surprises on the opening day of pre-season testing, with early signs indicating that Red Bull has solved its 2024 problems. 

The four-time world champion ended the opening day third on the timesheets but had the strongest long run pace. 

Verstappen completed 74 laps of the Bahrain International Circuit on Wednesday, and was very positive at the conclusion of the day.

McLaren also looked very strong, with Lando Norris having topped the day one timesheets ahead of George Russell and Verstappen. 

Impress

Whilst reading into ultimate lap time is difficult in testing, long run pace can be slightly more representable; however, still far from definitive. 

Nevertheless, the data from day one showed that Verstappen's long run pace was the strongest. 

The four-time world champion completed several long stints on both the C2 and C3 compounds, with his times having been eerily consistent. 

Early signs show that Red Bull's new car – the RB21 – is more consistent than its predecessor, regardless of the fact it looks very similar to it. 

As was also pointed out by Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko, the team's 2024 problems were not present on Wednesday.

Red Bull was not the only outfit to impress, as did McLaren and Mercedes. Rooki Kimi Antonelli completed 78 laps and topped the opening morning session, before Russell drove in the afternoon.

Just like the RB21, Mercedes' new W16 looked very stable in terms of handling, with Russell's lap times over a long run having also been very consistent. 

Ferrari, on the other hand, clearly held back a lot of its potential. Charles Leclerc was consistently towards the top of the timesheets, whilst Lewis Hamilton experimented with different set-ups.

View the long runs of Verstappen, Norris and Russell below. Please note: All times are set on mediums.

Short run

Any analysis of a test day simply involves a look at the fastest times, even if it is not a true representation. 

As mentioned, Norris topped the timesheets, ahead of Russell and Verstappen, who was roughly two and a half tenths adrift. 

Nobody knows how much fuel the drivers were running on, so the comparison is made purely based on the lap times.

Based on that, Norris and McLaren were by far the fastest. The Briton set his fastest time on the C3 rubber and went four tenths quicker than Leclerc, who had topped the session.

Interestingly, a different driver topped each sector. Verstappen was quickest in sector one, Norris in sector two and Russell in the final sector. It offers an idea how close the leading teams are.

View the fastest times of Verstappen, Norris and Russell below!