Lando Norris lived up to his billing as world-championship favourite by setting the fastest time on the opening day of pre-season testing in Bahrain.

In an afternoon session that was paused for an hour after a power cut plunged the garages and paddock into darkness, the McLaren man pipped his fellow Brit George Russell, of Mercedes, to top spot by 0.157sec.

A clearer picture of the pecking order will be established over the remaining two days, but clearly Norris can feel boosted by his early promise.

The 25-year-old has admitted he must ‘get my elbows out’ when the season starts in Melbourne on March 16, having missed out on the title last year to the combative Max Verstappen despite demonstrating impressive speed.

Red Bull’s Verstappen was third quickest on the day, with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc fourth best after he took over driving duties from Lewis Hamilton, who was 13th fastest on his first publicly timed outing in the red car since his £50m-a-year move from Mercedes.

Conditions were blustery and astonishingly cold given the desert setting. Even some rain fell, with more forecast for the night. There will be 16 hours of running on Thursday and Friday as the teams’ boffins gather data and drivers acclimatise to their new equipment.

Lando Norris was the quickest on the first day of pre-season testing in Bahrain on Tuesday

In his first public outing for Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton could only finish as the 13th-quickest

Hamilton managed 70 laps – more than a grand prix distance.

The final Brit on the grid Ollie Bearman, who drove for Ferrari as a stand-in last year aged 18, noticed that Hamilton had altered the layout of the Ferrari steering wheel.

‘I think he built up habits with his Mercedes steering wheel, so he has changed the DRS and the neutral buttons on the Ferrari,’ said Bearman, who is driving for Haas. He was slowest overall, but was carrying a heavy fuel load.