World champion Max Verstappen posted the fastest time Thursday on the first day of Formula 1 preseason testing in Bahrain.
The Red Bull driver posted his fastest lap of 1:32.837, 0.029 seconds quicker than Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso, who posted 60 laps.
Verstappen completed 157 laps in the team's new RB19, the only driver to take every lap Thursday.
"It's a bit of an evolution from last year," Verstappen said of the car afterward. "I think last year was more a time where you were really adapting to the car, really understanding what you had to do.
Ferrari's Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc were third and fourth fastest on Thursday, the first of three days of testing at the Bahrain International Circuit. Nineteen drivers in all took test runs Thursday.
F1's opening race is next weekend at Bahrain.
Verstappen will split time Friday with teammate Sergio Perez, who then gets an entire day driving Saturday.
Max Verstappen celebrated Red Bull's 400th Formula One race with a fourth win in a row at Imola on Sunday as Lando Norris finished second and cut McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri's championship lead to 13 points.
The Indian Premier League match between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Kolkata Knight Riders, which was to mark the tournament's resumption after the India-Pakistan ceasefire, was abandoned on Saturday due to rain without a ball being bowled.
Lewis Hamilton spoke of his devastation as Ferrari plunged to a qualifying low for the season on Saturday ahead of his first race in Italy with Formula One's oldest and most successful team.
Scottie Scheffler capped the third round of the PGA Championship in style to grab a three-shot lead over Sweden's Alex Noren on Saturday at Quail Hollow Club, where the world number one has a third major title in his grasp.
Crystal Palace's Eberechi Eze sparked a massive south London party by scoring the only goal to win the FA Cup 1-0 against Manchester City on Saturday and claim the club's first major trophy in their history.
The UAE has joined Arab states to demand an immediate halt to the war in Gaza and the establishment of a fund for its reconstruction during a summit in Baghdad.