Those who ran Wednesday's first session, where the track conditions were hotter and slower, were immediately at a disadvantage in terms of lap times.
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso, who were second and third behind Verstappen at the lunch break, still finished seventh and eighth overall despite giving up their cars to their teammates during the lunch break. Finished the day.
However, Verstappen showed almost as much strength in the morning as he showed in the afternoon. Leclerc was 0.8 seconds off the pace, with Alonso a further 0.1 seconds off the pace.
Sainz was just 0.015 seconds behind Daniel Ricciardo, who drives for Red Bull's second team (now known as RB). Alpine's Pierre Gasly was fifth, followed by Aston Martin's Lance Stroll.
Mercedes, with George Russell stuck in 12th, spent the first session making major set-up changes, including to the floor, and the second session went for longer runs on harder tires, avoiding the single-lap run completed by many of their rivals. . . Lewis Hamilton did not drive on Wednesday.
It was a difficult day for Williams. Their car was the last to hit the track for the first shakedown test and only ran the day before the test started while all other teams had been out by then.
Logan Sargent was 11th but only completed 21 laps after a spin at Turn 9 before a driveshaft issue ended his run.
Teammate Alex Albon, who drove the first session, completed 40 laps but stopped early due to a fuel pump failure.
