Max Verstappen, the three-time world champion, confirmed on Wednesday that "work is proceeding as usual despite the uncertainty surrounding Red Bull team principal Christian Horner and the team's progress" as the pre-season Formula 1 testing kicks off in Bahrain. The 26-year-old Dutch driver, who won a record 19 out of 22 races last season, topped the morning session with a lap time faster than the fastest of the first day on the same Bahrain circuit last year. Verstappen clocked a time of 1 minute and 32.548 seconds in the morning, compared to 1 minute and 32.837 seconds last year. The Formula 1 season is set to start in Bahrain on March 2.