Kevin Magnussen fastest in F1 testing 48 hours after Haas call-up

Kevin Magnussen made an eye-catching return to Formula One on Friday when he topped the times in pre-season testing in Bahrain, just 48 hours after replacing Nikita Mazepin at Haas.

Magnussen, dropped by Haas last season, signed a multi-year contract to take over from the Russian driver who was sacked following the invasion of Ukraine.

And the 29-year-old Dane showed no signs of ring rust as he set the fastest lap in the more favourable cooler conditions of early evening at the Sakhir circuit.

As the other teams were bedding their cars down for the night with Ferrari's Carlos Sainz setting the quickest time Haas were allowed an extra hour due to freight delays which saw them miss Thursday's first session.

Before Magnussen's late strike it was Sainz for Ferrari who had cut a dash on the second day of testing with Red Bull's world champion Max Verstappen leading the chasing pack almost half a second slower.

Lance Stroll for Aston Martin came next ahead of Lewis Hamilton, behind the wheel of the Mercedes which with its radical 'no sidepods' design has been the talk of the circuit.

Remarks attributed to Red Bull team principal Christian Horner from a German magazine on Thursday appeared to question the legality of the German constructors' 2022 car.

But at Friday's press conference Horner hailed Mercedes "innovative" interpretation of the new technical rules, insisting that "the comments quoted certainly weren't made".

"As far as we are concerned the Mercedes car looks like it complies with the regulations, just a different interpretation, different solution," he said.

"It's an interesting concept, it's a radical concept. So it is quick or not, only time will tell, but in terms of compliance, it's very much an FIA matter."

MA