Leclerc proves Stella right as Ferrari scorch the track in Bahrain

Dubai: Following the Barcelona Shakedown, McLaren team Principal Andrea Stella had said: “In terms of race pace, I can confirm that Ferrari looks pretty competitive.”

And so it proved on the first morning of the second round of three-day testing that began in Bahrain on Wednesday.

Charles Leclerc posted the fastest lap time – the Ferrari driver leading the way from McLaren’s Lando Norris and the Mercedes of Kimi Antonelli.

Leclerc worked his way down to a 1m 33.739s across the four hours of morning running at the Bahrain International Circuit, putting him three-tenths up on Norris and another tenth ahead of Antonelli.

All three handed over to their respective teammates for the afternoon session in the Sakhir circuit, with Hadjar the only driver scheduled to complete a full day of running aboard the Red Bull. And that’s because Hadjar’s teammate Max Verstappen opted to sit out Day 1 and will get on the track on Thursday and Friday.

Behind the top three of Leclerc, Norris and Antonelli, Williams continued their recovery from missing the Barcelona Shakedown en route to P4 with Alex Albon, while Alpine’s Pierre Gasly and Hadjar – who lost a chunk of track time due to work being carried out on the Red Bull – completing the top six.

Seventh went to early-starter Haas’ Esteban Ocon, from Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso, Audi’s Nico Hulkenberg and Racing Bulls’ Arvid Lindblad, who completed the most laps of the morning by charging his way through a race distance, with Cadillac’s Sergio Perez bringing up the rear as he gradually got some laps on the board after sensor delays.