Norris tops first practice for F1 Bahrain Grand Prix

British Formula One driver Lando Norris of McLaren celebrates winning the Australian Formula One Grand Prix on Albert Park Circuit in Melbourne. Norris of McLaren topped the first practice session for the Formula One Bahrain Grand Prix on Friday. Hasan Bratic/dpa
Lando Norris of McLaren topped the first practice session for the Formula One Bahrain Grand Prix on Friday.
The British driver clocked the fastest time of 1 minute 33.204 seconds to beat the Alpine of Pierre Gasly by 0.238s. Lewis Hamilton of Ferrari was third.
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Further down the top 10, Liam Lawson of Racing Bulls finished eighth ahead of Yuki Tsunoda, who replaced him at Red Bull from the Japanese GP.
Norris won the season opener Australian GP, with his team-mate Oscar Piastri taking victory in the second race of the season in China.
But McLaren were dethroned last weekend when four-time defending champion Max Verstappen took Red Bull to the top of the podium at the Japanese GP.
Ahead of the race in Bahrain, Norris tops the drivers' championship standings but Verstappen is just one point behind in second.
There were a handful of different faces taking part in this session, with teams giving young drivers a chance to get a taste of F1.
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Changes included Frederik Vesti replacing George Russell at Mercedes, Ayumu Iwasa replacing Verstappen at Red Bull and Dino Beganovic driving the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc.
Second practice is later on Friday. Qualifying is scheduled for Saturday ahead of Sunday's race.

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