Hamilton fastest as Honda hits more trouble at Bahrain test

Lewis Hamilton (above) headed the Ferrari of Antonio Giovinazzi (below) by 0.6s as McLaren managed just 17 laps on the first day of testing in Bahrain.

After the start to running was delayed by 10 minutes due to pallets being removed from the pit lane by a forklift truck, Hamilton caused the first red flag of a disjointed day when he stopped at Turn 10 after eight laps due to an electrical disconnect. The problem caused a 25-minute delay as the Mercedes was recovered, but it proved to be the only blip on the day as the team managed to recover to complete 97 laps laps and set the pace with a 1:31.358.

Once Hamilton's car had finally been removed, Sean Gelael then stopped in the Toro Rosso just six minutes later approaching Turn 11, causing a further 19-minute delay. The Toro Rosso would again stop in the afternoon session but was able to return to the track each time and eventually posted the eighth-quickest time.

While the stoppages were frustrating for the teams involved – and for the others waiting to run as each car took a long time to clear – there was worse news for Honda. A water leak was detected from the ERS on its second installation lap, ending all running for more than eight hours as the power unit was changed in the McLaren.

Oliver Turvey was behind the wheel as part of a simulator correlation program and eventually rejoined the action with 45 minutes remaining in the day, managing to add 15 laps to the two he had completed in the opening half hour. Unsurprisingly, the McLaren ended the day at the bottom of the timing screens but Turvey did manage a 1:35.011, leading him within half a second of Marcus Ericsson's Sauber.

It wasn't just McLaren hitting major issues, however, as Red Bull also missed out on three hours of track time. Daniel Ricciardo stopped at Turn 1 with a power unit failure that proved terminal and prematurely ended the Australian's running for the day.

Ricciardo had at least managed to set the third-fastest time – within a second of Hamilton – by the time he stopped after 45 laps. Between him and the Briton was Ferrari's Italian third driver Giovinazzi, who completed over 90 laps and was just 0.023s off Hamilton's pace for much of the afternoon before a late improvement for Mercedes.

There were two Ferraris on track on Tuesday as Sebastian Vettel carried out tire testing for Pirelli, completing high mileage in the morning. However, a reliability issue confined the German to the garage for nearly four hours and led to Pirelli extending its running to 9 p.m. local time, three hours after the finish for the rest of the teams in order to make up for lost time.

Behind Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull at the top of the times was Romain Grosjean, with the Frenchman – who turned 31 on Monday – just one second off Hamilton's pace. Felipe Massa was fifth after taking over from Lance Stroll halfway through the day, with Nico Hulkenberg splitting the two Williams drivers.

Lap times were slower than seen during the race weekend due to crosswinds and high temperatures, with only the top teams – Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull – able to run at a consistently high pace, while the majority had to carry out cool down laps in between push attempts.

Testing will conclude on Wednesday, with Valtteri Bottas driving for Mercedes and Vettel taking over the main Ferrari from Giovinazzi.