Lando Norris made an early championship statement by posting the quickest lap on the opening day of Formula One pre-season running in Bahrain.
As Lewis Hamilton completed his full testing debut in Ferrari colours prior to next month’s curtain raiser in Melbourne, it was his compatriot who lit up the timesheets for McLaren.
Norris came closest to preventing Max Verstappen from securing a fourth successive world crown last year, only to see his challenge unravel through mistakes by driver and team.
But McLaren were still able to secure the constructors’ championship – their first since 1998 – and Norris’ early form in the desert will do little to dampen his tag as the bookmakers’ favourite heading into the new campaign.
Norris, in his revamped McLaren, finished the first day of this week’s three-day test 0.157 seconds clear of Mercedes’ George Russell, with Verstappen third for Red Bull, two tenths back. Charles Leclerc ended the running in fourth for Ferrari, 0.448 sec slower than Norris.
The quickest laps were completed after the lunch break, with Hamilton in action first thing. Hamilton’s transfer from Mercedes to Ferrari – which is set to earn the 40-year-old more than £100million across the next two seasons – is the major talking point prior to the opening round on March 16.
And, after last week claiming his new employers are ready to carry him to a record eighth world title, Hamilton completed 70 laps – more than the equivalent of a race distance – on a trouble-free morning in his new scarlet machine before handing over testing duties to Leclerc.
With mileage more important than eye-catching times at this stage, Hamilton finished 0.406 seconds off the morning pace set by his replacement at Mercedes, the 18-year-old Kimi Antonelli.
Hamilton spent 12 seasons at Mercedes before making the move to Ferrari – a transfer perceived to be the biggest in the sport’s history.
And, reflecting on his departure, Russell, who beat Hamilton in two of the three seasons they were paired together at the Silver Arrows, said: “It does feel different.
“Lewis is such a huge personality on and off the track but I think everyone within the team is very much excited.
“It kind of feels like the end of a chapter but you’re looking forward to the next journey. At Mercedes, we’re looking forward and not backwards.”
The opening day was extended by an extra hour after a power outage saw the running suspended.
Floodlights went out across the track at 5pm local time. The grid’s teams were also left without power, forcing mechanics to work by torchlight during the suspension.
