FP1: Verstappen leads Russell and Hadjar during first practice at Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia

Max Verstappen topped the timesheets during the opening practice hour at the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, the Red Bull man setting the pace ahead of George Russell and Isack Hadjar.

With the Sepang International Circuit having last hosted an F1 event back in 2017, many drivers on the grid had not previously experienced the Malaysian track – meaning that Friday’s first practice offered a valuable initial opportunity to get to grips with the venue.

Franco Colapinto led the pack out as the session got underway at 1230 local time, the Alpine racer one of a small number to sport the soft tyres while the majority of the field bolted on the medium compound for their first laps.

Another driver to use the soft rubber was Arvid Lindblad, with the Racing Bulls driver likely to start from the back of the grid on Sunday after the team reported that he would take on a fifth power unit this weekend.

Verstappen – the last driver to win in Malaysia back in 2017 – had gone fastest at the 15-minute mark, while second-placed Russell seemed to be enjoying the challenge of mastering Sepang, the Briton radioing in: “This track is very cool.”

Russell was followed by Kimi Antonelli on the timesheets, with Mercedes running an upgrade for the event as well as sporting a special livery in tribute to their title partner PETRONAS. Meanwhile Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto commented on the high temperatures amid hot and humid conditions.

Verstappen remained at the top of the order as the session reached its halfway point, while Lindblad had climbed up to P3 to split the Silver Arrows. The picture started to evolve, however, as many drivers switched to the soft tyres, with Hadjar going fastest before being displaced by Russell.

An even quicker time from Verstappen returned the Dutchman to the top spot on a lap of 1m 37.520s, beating Russell’s effort by nearly four tenths. Antonelli, meanwhile, could go no higher than P5, while a purple first sector for Pierre Gasly helped the Alpine man to slot into seventh.

Elsewhere, the McLaren drivers were each running a different rear wing, with the team hoping for a better weekend after a difficult end to their race last time out in Azerbaijan.

As the session moved into the final quarter, some drivers – including Russell and Antonelli – returned to the medium tyres. The latter looked to be pushing, as replays showed the championship leader having a wide moment out on track.

Amid further laps going on the board in the closing stages – as well as something of a mini race between Esteban Ocon and Carlos Sainz – it was Verstappen who remained on top when the chequered flag fell, followed by Russell and the other Red Bull of Hadjar.

Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton were fourth and sixth for Ferrari, separated by Antonelli in fifth, while the top 10 was completed by Gasly, Liam Lawson, Lindblad and the Audi of Nico Hulkenberg.

McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris were 11th and 12th respectively, ahead of Bortoleto, Fernando Alonso in the Aston Martin and the Haas pair of Ocon and Ollie Bearman. Williams’ Alex Albon placed in P17, from Lance Stroll (Aston Martin), Colapinto, Sainz (Williams) and the Cadillacs of Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez.

The drivers and teams will now have a chance to reconvene and examine their data before Free Practice 2 takes place at 1600 local time.