Bahrain: Ricciardo fastest of the morning, Vettel stopped

Mercedes is definitely experiencing a very hectic testing weekend in Bahrain, and not in the good sense of the word. Yesterday, Valtteri Bottas was deprived of running in the morning due to a gearbox problem, which led the team to completely change the part.

This Saturday morning, it was the turn ofAston Martin, with a Mercedes engine, to experience the same problem. Sebastian Vettel only completed ten laps and quickly returned to hospitality.

Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton also had problems. The reigning world champion went off the track which ended in the gravel, causing a red flag. The Briton was, however, able to leave some twenty minutes later.

A tough start to 2021 for the champions#F1 #F1Testing pic.twitter.com/7F55clQFfU

— Formula 1 (@F1) March 13, 2021

And all is not dark for Mercedes. There McLaren powered by the German manufacturer worked perfectly. Daniel Ricciardo set the best time of the morning in 1'32"215. He exchanged orders several times with Fernando Alonso, who finally ranks 2nd at 124 thousandths for his first official laps in theAlpine.

Sergio Pérez (Red Bull) completes the leading trio at 263 thousandths just ahead Nicholas latifi (Williams) the only one to set his time on soft tires.

Many drivers made a mistake in the winding part of the second sector. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) and Nicholas Latifi notably performed beautiful tricks without major consequences.

Apart from Vettel, the other nine drivers performed well, completing between 40 and 75 laps, Nikita mazepin having completed the most loops.

The afternoon session will begin at 13 p.m., to be followed in live text on our site.