Briton Lando Norris set the pace for McLaren on the first day of pre-season Formula One running, as the 2022 cars designed under the biggest rules overhaul in decades hit the track to mark the start of a new era for the sport.
Seven-times world champion Lewis Hamilton was fifth, behind new team mate George Russell, having taken over from the younger Briton after lunch. Verstappen's new RB18, seen in public for the first time after Red Bull presented their new livery on a show car at their launch, turned heads due to its novel sidepod design."We wanted to get laps in today to get used to the car and to get a general understanding about how it’s behaving," said the 24-year-old, who will hand over to team mate Sergio Perez on Thursday.As a team, Ferrari covered the most distance with Leclerc and Sainz chalking up a combined 153 laps.
Alfa Romeo recorded the lowest mileage of the day with reserve driver Robert Kubica and former Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas managing only 32 laps between them.