Within 24 hours of downplaying VCARB’s pace,<\/a> Daniel Ricciardo went fastest in Bahrain FP1. The Australian finished marginally ahead of the McLaren pairing of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.<\/p>\n Although lap times at this stage are far from definitive, they can still provide early indications.<\/p>\n For the Faenza-based outfit, their times relative to McLaren were encouraging.<\/p>\n An important note is that (of the top 10), only the VCARB duo, McLaren and Valtteri Bottas, set laps on the softs.<\/p>\n As it stands, it seems reasonable to expect Ricciardo and Tsunoda to fight for points at the start of 2024.<\/p>\n Then again, there are still five teams who – on paper – are ahead in the pecking order.<\/p>\n One of these is Aston Martin, who is surely encouraged by Alonso’s time in the AMR24.<\/p>\n