Bahrain GP 2023

Alonso splits Red Bulls as Perez tops the timesheets in FP1

Red Bull's Sergio Perez has set the quickest time in the first practice session ahead of the 2023 Formula 1 season opener in Bahrain. Fernando Alonso with Aston Martin was close behind, splitting the two Red Bull drivers with Max Verstappen in third.

Sergio Perez in Bahrain 2023 - Credit: Red Bull Content Pool

Sergio Perez continued to show his impressive pace by topping the timesheets in the opening practice session of the 2023 season in Bahrain.

The Red Bull driver set a best time of 1’32.758, almost half a second quicker than his nearest rival, Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso.

Despite early pace from Alonso on the medium compound tyres, Perez soon emerged as the quickest driver on the track, posting a time of 1’34.343 on the same compound.

With more than half of the session complete, Red Bull switched to the soft tyres, allowing world champion Max Verstappen to set a time of 1’33.375, but Perez easily beat that with a time of 1’32.758.

Meanwhile, the two debutants had their moments of concern in the early running, with Williams' Logan Sargeant reporting a burning smell in the cockpit and McLaren's Oscar Piastri experiencing oversteer through turn seven.

Lance Stroll finally got his first run in the Aston Martin after missing testing due to injury, but an ignition problem kept him in the garage for over 20 minutes.

Elsewhere, Lando Norris ran off-track at the first corner under braking, while Carlos Sainz Jr. had a spin approaching the tricky downhill left-hander of turn 10, damaging his tyres and finishing at the bottom of the times.

Fernando Alonso in Bahrain 2023 - Credit: Aston Martin F1

Alonso managed to split the Red Bulls on the soft tyres with his first effort, but still found himself almost half a second behind Perez's overall best. Norris finished in fourth place for McLaren, while Charles Leclerc was fifth on the medium tyres.

Stroll finished in sixth place, ahead of Kevin Magnussen's Haas, Zhou Guanyu and Valtteri Bottas' Alfa Romeos, and Lewis Hamilton completed the top ten ahead of his Mercedes teammate, George Russell.

With Perez's impressive showing in the opening practice session, he will be hoping to continue his good form and make a strong start to the season.