MAX VERSTAPPEN shot an ominous warning signal to Lewis Hamilton as he set the fastest time during the first session of pre-season.
The drivers and teams are out in Bahrain for three days of testing before the opening race of the season next month at the same venue.
Max Verstappen has won the last two driver’s championships
Testing gives engineers and drivers a chance to explore their cars and make tweaks to its framework before racing begins.
The three-day event can occasionally signal a changing of the guard with some cars finding lap time and others dropping off.
But Verstappen has alerted his rivals that he and his Red Bull are still top of the pile by clocking the fastest time over eight hours of running.
The reigning world champion set his fastest lap at 1.32.837 having gone round the circuit 157 times, far more than any of the other drivers.
Fernando Alonso came second, only 0.029 behind the Red Bull, while Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz was third-fastest.
Hamilton did 83 laps and set the sixth-fastest time through the session, while teammate George Russell sharing the Mercedes was ninth.
It was a good day for struggling Williams who saw Alex Albon and rookie Logan Sargeant set the seventh and tenth quickest times respectively.
While Felipe Drugovoich, standing in for the injured Lance Stroll, saw his Aston Martin break down early in the session and require work in the garage.
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Major shakeups to the grid order are not expected with the regulations largely unchanged from last year, although car floors have been raised 15mm off the ground.
This is in response to the issue of porpoising last season which appeared to particularly affect Mercedes – but they have reported better results this time round.
