Yet while no hard and fast conclusions could be made from all the F1 teams' opening sessions on the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir on Wednesday, the general buzz seemed to be that Max Verstappen's Red Bull had enjoyed the most eye-catching start on Wednesday.
Norris led the time sheets of on day one, with a best clocking of 1min 34.669sec, while Piastri reckoned he was content with his 1min 35.602sec, which left him fifth quickest on the day.
But Verstappen impressed everyone, having led the way in the morning standings and then finished second overall, just 0.129sec behind Norris, the man who pipped him to the 2025 title by just two points.
Even given that teams' performances and plans are notoriously difficult to fathom in testing, especially at the start of a season in which the cars, rules and regulations have all been completely revised, the reaction to Verstappen's display was still instructive.
Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff reckoned Red Bull's new engine was more effective than everyone else's.
"They are able to deploy far more energy on the straights than everybody else," Wolff said. "You are speaking a second, over consecutive laps.
"On a single lap we have seen it before, but now we have seen it on 10 consecutive laps with the same kind of straight-line deployment.
"I would say that as per today, on the first official day of testing, which is always with the caveat of that, they have set the benchmark."
Constructors champions McLaren, though, were quite content for starters.
"A good first morning back in the car. It all ran smoothly and I feel like I got a better handle of what the car's doing and what it needs," said Piastri, who finished third in 2025 just behind Norris and Verstappen.
"The conditions are very different here compared to Barcelona (for the private testing sessions), so it was good to get some running in a different environment."
Verstappen drove his RB22 for the whole day, completing 136 laps, while McLaren uncorked a combined 112 laps - 58 from Norris in the afternoon and 54 from Piastri in the opening session.
"Positive day, lots learned and looking forward to getting back in the car tomorrow," said Norris.
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc was third quickest, ahead of Haas's Esteban Ocon (115 laps) and Piastri, while pre-season favourite George Russell was sixth for Mercedes, and Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton seventh.
Newcomers Cadillac managed 107 laps, with Sergio Perez 14th of 18 drivers who set a time. Audi, the former Sauber team, had Nico Hulkenberg ninth fastest after 73 laps.
With agencies
