Oscar Piastri admitted there is “still a lot to learn” after completing his programme on the opening day of F1 pre-season in Bahrain.
The Australian took the wheel of the McLaren MCL60 during the day's first session, recording 52 laps with a best time of 1:34.888s.
“My first morning of testing went pretty smoothly which is a good start to the season,” Piastri said.
“We got through the programme we wanted to, which was great, with the focus being on getting myself back up to speed and used to the new generation of F1 cars.
“There is still a lot to learn and improvements to make but I think I'm getting there.
“It was good to get some laps on the board and everything felt pretty comfy.
“I'm looking forward to my next few sessions to keep improving and learning more about the car.”
Piastri's best lap left him 18th fastest for the day, while team-mate Lando Norris was fifth fastest on the combined timings.
That was despite the Brit losing time as the team affected running repairs on the MCL60.
“There were some short delays caused by the team wanting to reinforce the bodywork in some places in order to prevent a failure,” explained team principal Andrea Stella.
“These were preventative measures, but we thought they were useful to make so we could run safely and reliably for the remainder of the day.
“Overall, a positive day. We hope to continue like this for Day 2 and 3 so we're ready for the first race of the season.”
Norris is scheduled to steer the car again on Friday morning of F1 testing before Piastri climbs in for the afternoon.
Running resumes in Bahrain at 10:00 local time for the second of three days of pre-season testing.