As Formula 1 returns for a brand new season, Australian Daniel Ricciardo is off the pace in Bahrain.
A mere 96 days since the sport left us with arguably the most dramatic finish to a season in its history, the first two practice sessions of the year were held on Friday.
Ricciardo heads into the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix behind the eight-ball after testing positive for COVID-19 last week.
This kept him out of the car for the final three-day testing session last weekend, also held in Bahrain.
This was precious time lost as F1 embarks on a new era of regulations, with the aerodynamic guidelines overhauled and larger wheels on this year's cars.
Ahead of Friday's first two practice sessions, Ricciardo said he was confident heading into the new season, but admitted he needed to play catch up to the rest of the field, who last week had three days of testing their new cars.
Ricciardo was well off the pace during Friday's first two sessions, finishing the sessions 17th- and 18th-fastest, respectively.
A water leak kept him in the garage for parts of the second session, more precious time lost ahead of the first race of the year.
"We didn't have the smoothest day," Ricciardo said on Friday evening.
"Unfortunately, we missed out on some running this evening, so we've got our work cut out.
"We'll keep at it, study the data tonight and try to make up for it tomorrow morning before qualifying."
His teammate, Lando Norris — who drove more laps during last week's tests than any other driver — was also off the pace in Bahrain.
Despite driving the most laps during the test, Norris was also hampered last weekend with car troubles.
The young Briton was 16th- and 11th-fastest in the two sessions on Friday, admitting the McLaren team needs to work hard overnight ahead of Saturday's qualifying session.
"There's a lot of work to do to be competitive," he said.
"Today was always going to be a tough day, trying to make up for the lack of long running that we missed out on last week at the test."
World champion tops time sheets as Ferrari show strength
After posting the quickest time during last weekend's testing, Max Verstappen has again come out on top in Bahrain.
The reigning world champion was quickest in the second practice session.
And, while his Red Bull team will continue their rivalry with Mercedes in 2022, Ferrari are showing signs of being a contender.
Ferrari drivers Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz were second- and third-fastest in both practice sessions on Friday.
This follows a strong showing during testing, giving fans of the Italian team a reason to believe in 2022.
"You can see that Ferrari are pushing hard and are very close so that's exciting," Verstappen said on Friday.
Despite being fastest on Friday, Verstappen has played down any suggestion that his Red Bull is the fastest car on the grid.
"We'll have to wait and see with different teams' engine modes," he said.
"No one is in [qualifying specification] yet, so I think everyone still has a lot more to give."
The Bahrain Grand Prix will be held at 2am on Monday, March 21, AEDT.
