Mick Schumacher proved he has the ability to step up to Formula One after clocking the second-fastest time during the first in-season test of 2019.
Formula 3 European champion Schumacher - the son of seven-time world champion Michael – spent Tuesday driving the Ferrari SF90 in Bahrain, his first taste of a F1 car.
Schumacher made a steady start in the opening session, clocking the eighth-fastest time as he completed 33 laps.
His best time of the morning was a one minute 32.552 seconds, but he eclipsed that later in the day in emphatic fashion.
After Romain Grosjean and Max Verstappen set the pace it was Schumacher who went to the top of the timesheets – the 20-year-old taking a tenth out of the Red Bull's previous best.
Bad weather stopped, @SchumacherMick is finally back on track for the afternoon session. #SF90 #F1Testing #essereFerrari pic.twitter.com/1PTsREQeTb
— Scuderia Ferrari (@ScuderiaFerrari) April 2, 2019
He became the first driver to go under one minute and thirty seconds as he improved his personal best, but it was not enough to finish the day on top.
Instead that honour fell to Verstappen after he took six tenths out of Schumacher's time with a lap of 1:29.379s.
Schumacher will hope to impress again when he returns to the Sakhir track on Wednesday in the Alfa Romeo.
Tuesday also saw the return of Fernando Alonso, the two-time champion setting the 11th-fastest time of the day as part of a collaboration between McLaren and Pirelli for tyre development.
Fernando is out under the @BAH_Int_Circuit lights setting laps for @pirellisport. #F1Testing pic.twitter.com/nYoh6eCsEa
— McLaren (@McLarenF1) April 2, 2019