World champion Max Verstappen led the way in Friday free practice for the season-opening Bahrain Formula One Grand Prix while his main rival Lewis Hamilton struggled. After coming fifth in the first daylight session which saw Alpha Tauri’s Pierre Gasly top, Red Bull driver Verstappen clocked 1 minute 31.936 seconds under the early evening floodlights on the 5.412-kilometres Bahrain International Circuit. It was a first benchmark after sweeping rule changes in the sport mainly in the aerodynamics area to make racing more exciting. The Ferraris confirmed their good showings from pre-season tests…