Norris fastest as Ferrari debuts trick rear wing

Lando Norris has set a new fastest lap at Formula 1 Bahrain pre-season testing to head Max Verstappen, while Ferrari debuted a trick rear wing before being hit with a mechanical problem.

F1 world champion Norris posted a 1m33.453s on the C3 compound tyres to go 0.006s quicker than George Russell’s previous best set yesterday afternoon, taking top spot in the morning session by 0.131s from Red Bull’s Verstappen.

Ferrari grabbed attention earlier in the day with a new rear wing that rotated 180-degrees, a device permitted under F1’s new active aero rules, which reverted to its standard position under braking.

But the Italian manufacturer’s joy was short-lived, as Lewis Hamilton was only able to complete five laps before being forced into the garage with an unspecified chassis issue. Hamilton was able to return to the track for the final five minutes to take part in the FIA race control systems check and practice starts.

With the majority of teams focused on race simulations and long runs, the outright best lap times weren’t challenged over the second half of the session, giving Norris the headline time for McLaren.

Russell took third place and the most-mileage moniker as the Mercedes driver posted 77 laps with relatively untroubled running. Alex Albon slotted into fourth place for Williams, also with a healthy 71-lap mileage.

Audi was another team to see its progress stalled by unreliability, as Gabriel Bortoleto was limited to 29 laps due to a hydraulics issue which required a lengthy precautionary check in the garage. The Brazilian still took fifth place on the times, having returned to the track in the final 40 minutes of the session.

Bortoleto’s late gains pushed Oliver Bearman into sixth for Haas and Franco Colapinto into seventh for Alpine.

Liam Lawson took eighth for Racing Bulls, having also been stuck in the garage for a lengthy period, which meant the Kiwi only completed 27 laps.

Fernando Alonso had another low-key outing down in ninth place for Aston Martin, four seconds off the outright pace set by Norris, and with 40 laps completed.

With Hamilton in 10th for Ferrari, Cadillac’s Valtteri Bottas completed the runners, having once again missed the early track activity due to a technical issue, but was able to get 58 laps completed later in the session.

F1 Bahrain pre-season test – Day 5 morning results

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