Oscar Piastri: I think McLaren is in good shape.

      Oscar Piastri, an Australian McLaren driver, believes that his team is doing quite well on the first day of pre-season testing, but the weather in Bahrain is somewhat surprising.

      Oscar Piastri: "It wasn't an easy day, but the McLaren car makes a good impression. We are trying to get her to behave more correctly, try different settings, and conduct a lot of experiments, especially since this is the first day of testing.

      But the work on the highway was interrupted by red flags (when the power supply went out), and this is not an ideal situation, but everyone is in an equal position. But I think we're in good shape, and we're doing well at this stage of testing. So for now, we're more or less happy with how things are going.

      Lando Norris, my team-mate, hasn't done many laps so far, but I think we have about the same opinion of the MCL39. Most importantly, everything is working as it should work. However, it's clear that it's still difficult to say what the other teams are doing, but we try to focus on our own business first and foremost, checking how certain settings changes affect the behavior of the car.

      However, it is much colder in Bahrain than we expected – I am sure that when we return here in April, the picture will be completely different. But so far it is quite unusual, especially since we have already seen raindrops. It is predicted for tomorrow, so it will be interesting! Going here, everyone assumed that they would wear shorts and T–shirts, but they had to wear jeans and jackets - in general, so far the tests in Bahrain are not going quite normally!

      Of course, my goal this season is to fight for the championship title and, together with the team, for the Constructors' Cup. It is clear that this will require huge efforts, and work in this direction began long before the start of the tests. But right now we have a rare opportunity to improve the efficiency of the car on a real track, as well as improve our own professional training.

      The fight this season promises to be very intense, as we already saw in today's first session, and we can expect an exciting championship ahead of us."