Williams’ Carlos Sainz ended day two of Formula One’s pre-season test in Bahrain fastest, also racking up an impressive 127 laps.
Lewis Hamilton was second for Ferrari ahead of his team-mate Charles Leclerc, with both men within a tenth of a second of former Scuderia driver Sainz.
Lando Norris, who heads into this season as bookmarkers’ favourite, finished 13th but the McLaren looked quietly impressive on the long-runs under lights in Sakhir.
George Russell was fourth with team-mate Kimi Antonelli fifth.
04:03 PM GMT
Day two classification
Here is how it finished.
-
SAI 1:29.348 - 127 laps
-
HAM +0.031 - 45 laps
-
LEC +0.083 - 83 laps
-
RUS +0.430 - 71 laps
-
ANT +0.436 - 87 laps
-
STR +0.881 - 57 laps
-
LAW +0.904 - 91 laps
-
DOO +1.020 - 80 laps
-
GAS +1.082 - 40 laps
-
HAD +1.327 - 94 laps
-
ALO +1.352 - 45 laps
-
TSU +1.445 - 46 laps
-
PIA +1.473 - 44 laps
-
NOR +1.534 - 77 laps
-
BOR +1.709 - 80 laps
-
HUL +2.109 - 56 laps
-
OCO +3.723 - 69 laps
-
BEA +5.024 - 66 laps
Some good lap totals there, though a few morning runners (Alonso, Hamilton, Gasly) not getting a full race distance in. I imagine they will have the evening tomorrow to do their race simulations as others have done today.
04:00 PM GMT
That’s day two over...
Sainz ends it with both the fastest time and the most laps with 127. Full classification coming up shortly.
03:54 PM GMT
Antonelli runs off again...
He locks up at turn one, thinks about trying to take the corner and then bails out to the run-off area to avoid flatspotting his tyre. Norris back out now on a fresh set of medium tyres. Hammer down?
03:51 PM GMT
Leclerc’s race simulation has ended
57 laps, medium-hard-hard, as Norris did. Antonelli about five laps from finishing his race sim. He has just run wide on the exit of turn 10. Pretty usual stuff, really, nothing too dramatic.
03:40 PM GMT
Norris pits at the end of that lap
Looks like pit-stop practice. The lap was decent but I doubt he was on low fuel judging by its body language. A pretty tidy stop, though.
03:38 PM GMT
Leclerc’s long-run continues
Norris, meanwhile, is out on a fresh set of medium tyres. A glory run from McLaren? Watch him go into the 1:27s now...
Sainz becomes the first driver to clock up a century of laps. 117 so far for the Williams driver today, Liam Lawson the next best with 89, though they have both taken part in both sections.
03:23 PM GMT
Norris ends his race simulation
A total of 58 laps across two hard compound and one medium compound tyre. It looked very promising. Leclerc has another 12 or 13 laps to go on his final ‘stint’.
I wonder if we will see any ‘glory runs’ at the end of today. Sainz and Lawson have had all day today so will not be in their cars tomorrow, so maybe from them? Probably not, though.
03:11 PM GMT
We go onboard with Lando Norris
I think the McLaren looks pretty good at the moment. That is what we should expect, of course, but they have not always begun seasons so well. That includes last year, too.
Anyway, Norris is in 13th but is 16 laps into his current stint on the hard tyres after a 18-lap stint on another set of hards and then 20 on a set of mediums. He is currently lapping in the 1:32s...
03:08 PM GMT
Into the final hour...
Here is how it stands.
-
SAI 1:29.348
-
HAM +0.031
-
LEC +0.083
-
RUS +0.430
-
ANT +0.436
-
STR +0.881
-
LAW +0.904
-
DOO +1.020
-
GAS +1.082
-
ALO +1.352
-
TSU +1.445
-
PIA +1.473
-
NOR +1.534
-
HAD +1.605
-
BOR +1.709
-
HUL +2.109
-
OCO +3.723
-
BEA +5.024
02:46 PM GMT
Leclerc switches to the hard tyre
Presumably for the next part of his race simulation, having done 17 laps on a set of mediums.
02:39 PM GMT
Leclerc and Norris on long runs
14 laps for Leclerc on the C3 medium tyres now with a stint best of 1:35.480. Norris is 13 laps onto a stint on the hard tyres with a stint best of 1:34.071. He is still down in 13th, though I expect McLaren’s running today and yesterday hints at confidence in what they are trying to do with their new car here.
02:30 PM GMT
Norris steadily increasing his track time
39 laps now for the Briton. That was just seven after nearly 90 minutes of the session. We have 90 minutes remaining in this one before the final day tomorrow.
02:27 PM GMT
Lawson locks up at turn one and goes straight on
Jack Dohan following behind gets a good view of it. A few mistakes here and there from Lawson, including a spin yesterday, but I don’t think that is anything to worry about at this point.
02:21 PM GMT
Sainz runs wide at the final turn
He goes well off the track, though that should not be an enormous cause for concern.
He is still the fastest man of the day so far. I would imagine that will change in the next 99 minutes or so that we have left.
02:09 PM GMT
Lap count and order with two hours remaining
Not many changes in the order since the last update.
-
SAI - 79 laps
-
HAM - 45 laps
-
LEC - 25 laps
-
RUS - 71 laps
-
ANT - 29 laps
-
DOO - 26 laps
-
GAS - 40 laps
-
ALO - 45 laps
-
TSU - 46 laps
-
STR - 17 laps
-
PIA - 44 laps
-
NOR - 25 laps
-
LAW - 78 laps
-
BOR - 21 laps
-
HUL - 56 laps
-
OCO - 69 laps
-
HAD - 60 laps
-
BEA - 34 laps
A better afternoon for Lawson, who has now clocked up 50 laps to go with his 28 from earlier in the day. Sainz leads the way with both lap count lap time.
01:49 PM GMT
Work undertaken on Bearman’s Haas
It looks like repairs to the floor area with the car up on the high stands. He did run wide at turn four earlier, perhaps clunked the kerb there or gravel kicked up in an unfortunate way.
Lando Norris is back out, by the way, onto his 13th lap with two hours and 11 minutes remaining.
01:35 PM GMT
Another spin...
This time for Leclerc in Ferrari at the final corner. He comes into the pit lane after that. Whether or not that was planned I do not know.
01:31 PM GMT
90 mins gone - Here is how it stands
-
SAI 1:29.348
-
HAM +0.031
-
LEC +0.083
-
RUS +0.430
-
ANT +0.436
-
DOO +1.020
-
GAS +1.082
-
ALO +0.352
-
TSU +1.445
-
PIA +1.473
-
NOR +1.534
-
BOR +1.709
-
LAW +1.885
-
HUL +2.109
-
STR +3.258
-
OCO +3.723
-
BEA +5.397
-
HAD +6.151
01:28 PM GMT
Still only seven laps for Lando Norris in the McLaren
That is not very many, though no word on any problems. I don’t think there are any. You’d expect them to have done a fair few more by this point. Piastri only did 44 laps. Oliver Bearman, meanwhile, clocks up his 30th lap of the afternoon adding to Haas’s already impressive total. That said, they have not done any real low or low(ish) fuel performance runs.
Anyway, he is out again.
01:19 PM GMT
Leclerc moves up into third
He is now within a tenth of a second of Sainz and just 0.051sec slower than team-mate Hamilton’s time from this morning.
01:09 PM GMT
Spin for Sainz
Softest tyres on but still goes around at the first turn. Tyres just didn’t bite and around went the rear. He gets going again.
01:03 PM GMT
Norris does his first laps of the day
He goes out on the C3 medium tyres and sets a 1:32.763 which outs him 14th.
12:54 PM GMT
Approaching an hour of running in this session
Here are the times of the drivers fresh in the cockpit:
LEC 1:29.783
ANT +0.001
DOO +0.585
BOR +2.807
BEA +4.962
HAD +5.868
STR (NO TIME)
NOR (NO TIME)
Just the three laps for Stroll and none so far for Norris.
12:39 PM GMT
Turn four catches out another driver
Bearman dips his left-hand side into the gravel on exit.
Meanwhile, Carlos Sainz has moved to the top, just 0.013sec ahead of Hamilton. Leclerc now into fourth, within half a second of former team-mate Sainz.
12:35 PM GMT
Leclerc already up to fifth
That is the highest of the afternoon runners. It would be surprising if Ferrari are not in the fight at the start of the season, but given how close it is it would only take a small shift backwards for them to be behind Mercedes and Red Bull.
12:32 PM GMT
Ah, the rain has arrived
“Decent amount now,” says Haas driver Oliver Bearman on the radio.
Just like a British summer day.
12:26 PM GMT
Only three drivers yet to do a lap
They are: Norris, Bortoleto and Stroll. Leclerc has done a timed lap and slots into eighth with a lap time 1.614sec slower than Ferrari team-mate Hamilton. It was the case yesterday, as expected, that the evening session times were faster. That should be the case again today but that depends on when the rain comes and how heavy it is.
12:17 PM GMT
Damon Hill interview: Red Bull just cannot accept criticism
“Damon Hill’s a s--- driver. There you go, I’ve given you your headline,” Formula One’s 1996 world champion chuckles as he sets off in search of his ball after hooking it off the third tee on a glorious winter’s day at Hankley Common.
The beautiful heathland course – 30th in Golf Monthly’s ranking of the top courses in Great Britain and Ireland – is Hill’s local manor. He has been a member here “for the last 10 years or so”, having settled in this neck of the Surrey commuter belt following his return from Ireland in 2000, at the end of his driving career.
Hill is a big golf nut. He has his grandfather Norman, his father’s father, to thank for that.
“Mill Hill will correct me, but I think my grandfather was captain of Mill Hill Golf Club at one time,” he says of his golfing pedigree. “He was certainly a member. I’ve got a picture of him somewhere wearing a tweed jacket, buttoned up, at the top of his backswing, playing with a fabulous old wooden-shafted thing. This would have been about 1920.”
12:09 PM GMT
Good new for Red Bull?
Christian Horner is speaking on television to Lawrence Barretto: “Both drivers are reporting that the car is easier [than last year’s car] to drive and it’s not so much on edge.”
12:05 PM GMT
Car on track alert
It is Isack Hadjar in the Racing Bull. Hang on, is that the correct way to refer to it? In the Racing Bulls? Doesn’t sound right so I am going to go for the singular here.
12:02 PM GMT
GREEN LIGHT
The afternoon session has begun but nobody on track yet. Four hours of running, though there is a 60 per cent chance of rain. So whether we will get a packed afternoon is another matter.
12:00 PM GMT
Who is in each car this afternoon?
McLaren
Norris
Ferrari
Leclerc
Red Bull
Lawson
Mercedes
Antonelli
Aston Martin
Stroll
Alpine
Doohan
Haas
Bearman
Racing Bulls
Hadjar
Williams
Sainz
Sauber:
Bortoleto
Sainz and Lawson also drove this morning.
11:57 AM GMT
We are nearly ready to get going again
Let’s hope for a significantly less disrupted afternoon session compared to yesterday.
11:52 AM GMT
Verstappen: ‘Speaking about booing not worth my time’
2024 title rivals Lando Norris and Max Verstappen were among the drivers up in today’s F1 drivers’ press conference. Verstappen declined to comment on the booing at the O2 last week, saying “It’s not worth my time”.
They then had a bit of fun when asked about their relationship following some tense moments last year. “Yeah, we don’t get on any more,” Verstappen replied. “We had a fight in a pub,” added Norris. “No, it’s the same. I think we’re looking forward to more battles this year. Hopefully we’ll have more people joining us.”
11:01 AM GMT
Morning session ends - Classification
-
HAM 1:29.379 - 45 laps
-
RUS +0.399 - 71 laps
-
SAI +0.711 - 44 laps
-
GAS +1.051 - 40 laps
-
ALO +1.321 - 45 laps
-
TSU +1.414 - 46 laps
-
PIA +1.442 - 44 laps
-
LAW +1.854 - 28 laps
-
HUL +2.078 - 56 laps
-
OCO +3.692 - 69 laps
So Russell and Ocon have done full race distances, Hulkenberg is one lap way from it and most others have done about 40 laps. Lawson down on just 28 laps is far from ideal. But he does have the whole afternoon session, though will not run tomorrow at all.
There will be a brief practice standing start for a few cars on the grid here.
10:55 AM GMT
No more running for Red Bull in this session
The screens are up in front of their garages. Liam Lawson has done just 28 laps, the fewest of anyone.
10:43 AM GMT
Russell has improved but stays second
He is still 0.399sec off Hamilton’s best time, however. What that means, exactly, we do not know. It’s a fairly busy track at the moment as we enter the final 20 minutes of the morning session.
10:28 AM GMT
Contact between Hulkenberg and Piastri
Hulkenberg on the outside of turn eight, appears to let Piastri through. Yet Piastri slightly understeers and Hulkenberg turns in and there is minor contact between the McLaren’s front-left and the Sauber’s rear-right.
Think Hulkenberg should have just got more comprehensively out of the way there, though on second appearance Piastri went in too hot and that is why they hit. I think that is probably 55-45 in Piastri’s direction.
10:26 AM GMT
Aston Martin’s Pedro de la Rosa speaks about their lack of track time yesterday
Some minor issues, technical issues in the morning. The afternoon was mainly related to the power cut that affected the telemetry, so we lost a lot of laps. We are just behind schedule. It’s the same for everyone, we just didn’t accomplish what we wanted to yesterday. We have a lot to do in the next one day and a half.
It was not awful by any means. De la Rosa, by the way, still holds the race lap record of 1:31.447 set in the McLaren MP4-20 (below, driven by Kimi Raikkonen) in 2005.
10:20 AM GMT
Hamilton improves his margin at the top
His time of 1:29.379 is half a second faster than Russell. There was a bit of nervousness in the car yesterday but the Ferrari looks a lot more compliant in his hands this morning. 35 laps for him today.
Of course, as with all the usual caveats, this is not a stage of the pre-season test where drivers are genuinely pushing. That will probably come tomorrow and late on at that.
10:16 AM GMT
Hamilton sets the fastest first sector...
...but then bails out of the lap after running wide at turn 11. Just understeered a little out wide on exit.
10:06 AM GMT
Piastri steadily moving up the order
The McLaren driver is now fifth with a time 1.169sec off Hamilton’s fastest. 27 laps for the Australian now, so he is making up for lost time after a slow start to the session.
Haas again not worried about troubling the top of the timesheets, which is as it was yesterday. 47 laps is more than anyone but Russell, though.
10:01 AM GMT
Updated order with one hour remaining of the session
-
HAM 1:29.670
-
RUS +0.209
-
SAI +0.420
-
GAS +0.760
-
PIA +1.169
-
LAW +1.563
-
TSU +1.602
-
HUL +1.787
-
ALO +3.372
-
OCO +3.680
09:52 AM GMT
The track looks to be improving
Hamilton has set the fastest first sector and Russell is a couple of tenths up on Hamilton’s previous best time after two sectors. Russell dips into the 1:29s to go fastest but Hamilton could well beat that. Does he? Yes, he does, by 0.2sec or so.
09:50 AM GMT
Sainz narrowly misses going first
His time of 1:30.090 is just a hundredth of a second slower than Hamilton’s fastest. It would be good to see Sainz in a competitive Williams this year. He will not be winning races and taking podiums as he did with Ferrari last year but if he can fight for a place in the top 10 in the championship that would be some solace.
09:39 AM GMT
Chilly in Sakhir
This is allegedly as cold as it’s ever been for F1 in Bahrain. Air temp currently hovering around 14C (creeping up from earlier) and track temp 16.8C.
09:39 AM GMT
Just under 90 minutes remain in the morning session
Here are the lap counts so far.
-
RUS - 42
-
OCO - 32
-
HUL - 31
-
LAW - 25
-
HAM - 24
-
TSU - 23
-
ALO - 22
-
GAS - 22
-
PIA - 20
-
SAI - 19
09:30 AM GMT
Piastri has improved
He has moved up to seventh with a 1:32.719, still 2.7sec or so off Hamilton. Russell says it is starting to rain a bit more now.
Hamilton still leads the way from Sainz, Russell, Gasly and Lawson. Russell has clocked up the most laps of anyone with 42.
09:25 AM GMT
A few more cars out there now
Russell, Lawson, Hulkenberg, Tsunoda and Piastri, who has finally set a time of 1:35.036. A few damp patches off line or rather off track but elsewhere the track is dry.
09:24 AM GMT
Aston Martin focused on next season
Coffee at Aston Martin this morning. New team principal Andy Cowell conceded the team will likely have more than one eye on next season given the limited scope for improvement this year, the fact that next season represents a brand new start in terms of regulations, and given huge number of changes the team have made recently, both in terms of infrastructure (new simulator, new wind tunnel, new factory etc) and personnel. Over 200 new staff joined last year.
The most notable new arrival begins on Monday, of course: Adrian Newey. Cowell said the F1 design guru’s office was ready – “and so is his drawing board”.
09:09 AM GMT
Russell back out on track now
It has stopped raining and the Briton is out there on a set of medium tyres. Might still be a little slippery in places but nothing too much to worry about, I would imagine.
08:48 AM GMT
Ocon has done a series of in and out laps
And now he pulls into his pit box and is wheeled back into the garage.
08:41 AM GMT
Haas are one team who do have intermediate tyres, though
So Esteban Ocon has been sent out on a set of the green-walled tyres.
08:38 AM GMT
Most teams do not have wet tyres at this test, anyway
The lull continues.
08:35 AM GMT
FIA denies rule changes are unlawful after Britons locked out from meeting
The FIA has denied that the legality of its latest rule changes is in doubt after a BBC report, which raised concerns about the validity of the resolutions passed on Wednesday by the World Motor Sport Council.
Britain’s two representatives on the council, Robert Reid, the FIA’s deputy president for sport, and David Richards, the chairman of Motorsport UK, were both barred from the meeting, allegedly for refusing to sign a non-disclosure agreement
08:27 AM GMT
Order update with 90 mins gone
-
HAM 1:30.080 - 17 laps
-
SAI +0.072 - 14 laps
-
RUS +0.299 - 28 laps
-
GAS +0.766 - 14 laps
-
LAW +1.153 - 15 laps
-
HUL +1.445 - 21 laps
-
ALO +2.862 - 14 laps
-
OCO +3.691 - 25 laps
-
TSU +7.881 - 11 laps
-
PIA (NO TIME) - 7 laps
Not a lot of running for McLaren early on in the session, however that was the case yesterday and it does not appear to be because of any great problem.
08:20 AM GMT
Hamilton reports some moisture
“Damp. It’s raining a lot. Quite a bit out here,” he says. You can see the water on the pit apron. I think this will be the end of any significant running until it clears up a bit I am afraid. It’s not exactly treacherous out there but it doesn’t really make much sense for drivers to be running in risky conditions. But we will see.
08:11 AM GMT
Piastri gets a big snap of oversteer at turn 11
Not much running for the McLaren so far and I do wonder if that was also caused by a slippery surface. Still no proper lap time for McLaren today. He did have his right side of the car off the track. Replays show Sainz doing the same at the same spot not long before or after.
08:04 AM GMT
Lando Norris speaks about his day one
“The car was feeling like last year, which is a good start. It’s a good thing. We’ve had our fair share of issues over the last few years coming to Bahrain. A lot of stuff has changed on the car, so for us to go out and check everything and for things to be working as they are meant to is a good start. For now, it is a nice start to the test. You never know what fuel modes people are running and engine modes.”
08:03 AM GMT
Ocon reports a bit more rain out there
It is fairly gloomy and the camera looking down the pit straight has a fair few spots on the lens. “Spitting quite a bit more than before now,” says Russell and then he runs wide at turn two.
07:56 AM GMT
A few more performance runs being done now
It is just Piastri who has yet to set a time for McLaren (and just five laps) but Sainz has moved into second for Williams on the hard tyres, within a tenth of a second of Hamilton. Hulkenberg in sixth now, but 1.5sec off Hamilton’s time.
07:52 AM GMT
Hamilton goes faster again
He backs off, does a cool-down or preparation lap and his second lap is 0.207sec faster than his previous best. That is better than any lap he managed in pre-season testing last year for Mercedes by about a second. He did run a bit wide in turn four, dipping his rear-left tyre into the gravel. Wouldn’t have cost him too much time, though.
07:48 AM GMT
Hamilton moves fastest
He pips former team-mate Russell by less than a tenth of a second.
07:44 AM GMT
Order and lap count update
-
RUS 1:30.379 - 18 laps
-
LAW +0.854 - 15 laps
-
HAM +2.019 - 12 laps
-
ALO +2.563 - 9 laps
-
OCO +5.469 - 12 laps
-
HUL +6.188 - 7 laps
-
TSU +7.582 - 5 laps
-
GAS (NO TIME) - 5 laps
-
PIA (NO TIME) - 4 laps
-
SAI (NO TIME) - 6 laps
07:34 AM GMT
A close shave for Lawson here
07:32 AM GMT
Alonso twitchy at turn two
That happened to a few drivers yesterday, including Lawson who spun there. It’s often a tricky corner especially in low-grip conditions. It’s a quick change of direction (twice, making it almost a chicane) from the slowest point on track. I don’t think it was the rain that caused the slide in this case.
07:29 AM GMT
Russell has slipped into the 1:30s on his latest run
He is now fastest by a good margin, nearly two seconds in fact. Liam Lawson, who is in the Red Bull all day, is pootling around at the moment in the RB21.
“It’s still drizzling around the track,” he says.
07:20 AM GMT
All quiet on track at the moment
Hamilton leads the way for Ferrari with a 1:33.680. Everyone has lodged at least two laps but Gasly, Alonso, Piastri and Sainz have yet to set a lap time, having just done an out and in lap.
07:19 AM GMT
Timings for today
First session: 7am-11am GMT
Second session: Noon-4pm
Of course those are the planned times. Yesterday we had an extra hour in the evening session.
07:13 AM GMT
A quick order update after 12 minutes
Six drivers with laps on the board so far.
-
RUS
-
HAM +0.470
-
HUL +2.685
-
LAW +3.969
-
TSU +4.079
-
OCO +9.388
Fair to say not all of them are representative. A few aero rakes on the cars again today, which is essentially to do with correlation between their on-track parts and their wind tunnel simulations. Are the new parts doing what they are expected to do? And are they replicating what happened in the wind tunnel?
You will have to look very closely to see the mini-rakes on Hamilton’s Ferrari here. Can you spot them?
07:06 AM GMT
Seven cars out at the moment
Russell and Hulkenberg the only drivers to have set a lap time. There was a bit of rain around yesterday and that appears to have continued today. It is not wet enough yet for anyone to consider putting on intermediate tyres. That said, it is not very warm in Bahrain with just 13C air temperature.
Make that eight cars: Lewis Hamilton emerges from the pit lane in his Ferrari SF-25.
07:02 AM GMT
GREEN LIGHT: The AM session is under way
George Russell is out there and reports that it is raining. Well, spitting anyway.
07:00 AM GMT
Who is driving today for each team?
McLaren
AM: Piastri
PM: Norris
Ferrari
AM: Hamilton
PM: Leclerc
Red Bull
AM/PM: Lawson
Mercedes
AM: Russell
PM: Antonelli
Aston Martin
AM: Alonso
PM: Stroll
Alpine
AM: Gasly
PM: Doohan
Haas
AM: Ocon
PM: Bearman
Racing Bulls
AM: Tsunoda
PM: Hadjar
Williams
AM/PM: Sainz
Sauber:
AM: Hulkenberg
PM: Bortoleto
06:56 AM GMT
Good morning
Welcome to our coverage of day two of Formula One’s one and only pre-season test at the Bahrain International Circuit, just outside of Sakhir.
Day one contained plenty of laps from most of the drivers and teams, with Lando Norris topping the timesheets at the end of it all, followed by Charles Leclerc, George Russell and Max Verstappen. Of course, lap times are notoriously unreliable in pre-season testing because of the unknowns and variables. Still, that is the top four teams occupying the top four slots.
There was some slight drama in the second session as a power cut at the track caused a red flag and no running for an hour. However, that was sorted out and the FIA and F1 decided to extend the running by an extra hour. Nobody lost any running time, really. Oh, and there was also some rain.
Let’s hope day two of three, which is about to get under way, is significantly less disrupted than that. Lewis Hamilton is back in action for Ferrari in the AM session, as is George Russell for Mercedes.
