Max Verstappen laid down an early marker ahead of the world championship on the opening day of pre-season F1 testing in Bahrain on Friday while Lewis Hamilton suffered a nightmare start as a sandstorm swept across the Sakhir track.

Verstappen, long regarded as heir apparent to seven-time world champion Hamilton, clocked a best time of 1min 30.674sec in the Red Bull.

The Dutchman also piled up an eye-watering 139 laps.

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