FP2 in Bahrain confirms what we have seen during this start of the season: the McLaren is very fast. In fact, the gap from the other teams seems to have increased. Piastri, who set the best time of the session, and Norris have a well-balanced car that is capable of working with a lot of aerodynamic load. All the others, however, are quite far away. Ferrari and Mercedes seem quite in line with performance. A few more difficulties, for now, for Verstappen, who however has shown in the first three GPs that he can completely overturn his situation.
FP2 begins in Bahrain: teams hunt for first useful data
Night falls in Sahkir, temperatures drop slightly and the second free practice session begins. The first to take to the track is Charles Leclerc, ready at the green light with the soft tyres. In the meantime, all the regular drivers, in addition to the Monegasque, have reclaimed their seats. Among them, Max Verstappen starts off aggressively, having chosen to mount the soft tyres and this will lead him to push hard right from the start. The same path chosen by Mercedes, both with Russell and with Antonelli, who returned to the track after the problems he had with the engine during the FP1.
The track has improved compared to the last session. In fact, the temperatures have dropped slightly: 35° for the asphalt and 30° for the air. This progressive lowering of the degrees is leading the cars to have more grip on the track, so much so that Hamilton, in the first 15 minutes of FP2, set a time on medium tyres that was one second faster than Norris's, set during the first session. In the meantime, right from the start problems for Fernando Alonso. The Spaniard found some anomalies in his steering wheel, so much so that he saw it come off directly on the track to reset it and then find it out of his hands. The number 14, finally, returned to the pits to allow his mechanics to carry out all the necessary checks and assessments. The problem, however, seems quite serious, with the team forced to make the driver get out of the car to completely disassemble the steering column.
The track has lit up: the drivers can finally push compared to FP1
Very fast the McLaren on soft tyres. With thirty minutes to go, Piastri and Norris are leading, with impressive performances in the first sector. The Papaya cars are working well, and they haven't even brought any aerodynamic updates. Ferrari, as mentioned in the previous report, has led a new fund which should give more load, but it doesn't solve however the height problem. Leclerc proved it again in this session. In fact, the Monegasque driver, after a few laps on the medium tyres, returned to the pits and chose, together with the mechanics, to slightly modify the height of the rear.
This further demonstrates how the cars from the Maranello team are quite sensitive to this parameter. Ferrari therefore needs to travel on the limit of the regulations to achieve acceptable competitiveness. Furthermore, what has been seen in the last three Grand Prix is asserting itself on the track: Mercedes in line with Ferrari's performance and, of course, with McLaren dominating. A separate discussion deserves Verstappen and Red Bull, which represents a bit of an unpredictable variant. The Dutchman, with fifteen minutes to go, is seventh, seven tenths behind Piastri. tsunoda is even further away: a second and a half from the first of the two McLarens
One fact that is emerging from these first two free practice sessions concerns the tyres. In fact, as also confirmed by Mario isola at the microphone of Mara Sangiorgio, the teams they are finding each other very comfortable on soft rubber and medium tyres. Furthermore, some teams returned sets of hard tyres to Pirelli after FP1. As a result, this year's race could stay on two stops, but teams could avoid using the hard tyre and instead focus on the other two softer compounds.
FP2 ends: McLarens confirm their speed in Bahrain
The McLarens are finishing their stint simulation. Piastres he completed it on hard tyres, then pitted five minutes from the end to fit a set of softs. Norris, instead, attempted a stint directly on the latter. What was most surprising about the Englishman was how little degradation he experienced in performance over the course of the laps. Norris stayed between 1:36.9 and a low 37. A constant speed which places him, for now, among the favorites for victory. The others, however, remain all more or less distant by the two McLaren drivers. Even Verstappen, despite having a good pace, was unable to keep in touch with the Papaya cars. Antonelli, on the other hand, on a stint on soft tyres had to make a much slower introduction onto the track.
Everyone is slower than McLaren, which has the possibility of running a completely solo race. In fact, the best time was recorded by Piastres turning in 1:30.505, Norris detached by 154 thousandths and then, after a good five tenths, we find George Russell, followed by Leclerc and Antonelli. Seventh Verstappen, followed at a distance of just over two tenths by Lewis Hamilton.
