Verstappen leads 1st practice for season-opening Bahrain GP

<p>SAKHIR, Bahrain &mdash; Max Verstappen got the Formula One season underway Friday with the fastest time in the first practice for the Bahrain Grand Prix.</p>
<p>The Red Bull driver was .298 seconds ahead of Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas and .503 clear of McLaren’s Lando Norris. </p>
<p>World champion Lewis Hamilton led early on for Mercedes but dropped back to finish with the fourth-quickest time. The British driver was .527 seconds behind Verstappen.</p>
<p>There is a second practice on Friday afternoon.</p>
<p>Hamilton is looking to win a record eighth F1 title to move one ahead of Michael Schumacher, whose 22-year-old son Mick Schumacher is making his F1 debut with Haas. </p>
<p>He finished the first session in 19th place.</p>
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