HIGHLIGHTS: Watch the action from the first day of pre-season testing as Verstappen leads the way in Bahrain

Max Verstappen led the way on the first day of running in the 2023 season, with the reigning double world champion topping the timesheets ahead of the impressive Fernando Alonso on day one of pre-season testing in Bahrain.

Verstappen – the only driver to take part in both morning and afternoon sessions – completed 157 laps for Red Bull, and set a time of 1m 32.817s, to lead Alonso by 0.029s, in what was a strong showing from the Spaniard and Aston Martin.

It was also a positive day for Ferrari with Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc in third and fourth respectively, ahead of McLaren's Lando Norris in fifth. Lewis Hamilton was sixth fastest for Mercedes, following by Williams' Alex Albon in seventh and Alfa Romeo's Zhou Guanyu in P8.

READ MORE: Verstappen edges out Alonso on first day of 2023 pre-season testing in Bahrain

There were no major incidents, although we did see a number of drivers lock up and run wide, while Felipe Drugovich – filling in for Lance Stroll at Aston Martin – briefly brought out the red flags after stopping on track early on in the morning session with an electronics issue that was later solved.

Click on the video player above to catch the highlights from the first day of pre-season testing at the Bahrain International Circuit.