Alonso has fans dreaming with top time in F1 practice

MANAMA :Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso set his fans dreaming of what might be to come with the fastest lap ahead of favourites Red Bull in practice for Formula One's Bahrain season-opener on Friday.

The 41-year-old Spaniard, who debuted in F1 before McLaren's Australian rookie Oscar Piastri was even born and will be making a record-stretching 356th start, lapped the Sakhir circuit in one minute 30.907 seconds.

The time on soft tyres was 0.169 quicker than Red Bull's double world champion Max Verstappen.

Alonso had set the second best time in the first daylight session, behind Red Bull's Mexican Sergio Perez who was third later on under the floodlights.

The double world champion has not won a race for a decade, his last coming at the 2013 Spanish Grand Prix with Ferrari, but 'Mission 33' - adding to his tally of 32 career wins - has become a rallying cry for Alonso fans on social media.

Aston Martin impressed in testing with quick long runs and plenty of laps but Red Bull rolled up this week as the clear favourites, their car an improved version of the one that triumphed 17 times in 22 races last year.

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc was fourth fastest with German veteran Nico Hulkenberg, starting his first full season since 2019, fifth for Haas.

Alonso's Canadian team mate Lance Stroll, back in the car despite breaking both his wrists in a cycle accident last month, was sixth.

Once-dominant Mercedes had two quiet sessions, with seven times world champion Lewis Hamilton 10th and eighth respectively and team mate George Russell 11th and 13th.

Piastri was the highest-placed rookie in both sessions, 12th and 15th, with AlphaTauri's Nyck de Vries 16th and 19th and Williams' Logan Sargeant 18th and 20th.