The second day of testing also gets underway in Bahrain - here are the dates and times of this three days – . During yesterday it was Red Bull who dominated the session. The smiles inside the garage and the gap given to the pursuers gave an initial idea of what the title contenders will have to face. Classic Ferrari for sale e Aston Martin have shown signs of recovery, while McLaren and Racing Bulls followed close behind. Let's see what happened in Bahrain during day 2 of testing of the 2024 season.
We get on the track
The morning session of the 2 test day 2024 in Bahrain sees 10 drivers on track: Leclerc, Piastri, Perez, Alonso, Sargeant, Tsunoda, Gasly, Hamilton, Hulkenberg, Zhou. Perez, Alonso, Hamilton, Hulkenberg, Piastri and Gasly immediately exit the pits. Of note is the change of helm at Red Bull and Mercedes. Perez takes Verstappen's place for the morning, while man of the moment Lewis Hamilton will drive in Russell's place - Will it be a good choice to field him at Fanta F1? – . The first minutes were dedicated, as usual, to installation laps to avoid any tantrums. There are many single-seaters on the track with them “rakes” for detecting aerodynamic flows, such as McLaren, Alpine, Sauber and Racing Bulls.
Problem at Red Bull
A few minutes from the start the RB20 driven by Sergio Perez suffered its first problem. After a first day of 143 laps, the single-seater from Milton Keynes suffered from a brake problem and returned to the pits for repairs. Inside the garage the Mexican is seen having a conversation with team principal Christian Horner. It should be a matter of days before we know the fate of the winged bull manager, which could destabilize a perfectly well-established team on the crest of the wave.
Williams is trying to get back on track after yesterday's unfortunate day. The Wantage company suffered a problem with the petrol pump, and subsequently with the semi-axle. The team immediately begins to grind out laps with Logan Sargeant, first for laps completed after almost an hour.
Mercedes is also proceeding with the evaluation of aerodynamic flows via rakes. Hamilton takes to the track with the aero rakes positioned behind the rear wheels to check the efficiency of the rear axle.
Ferrari's change of approach and Perez's return
Leclerc starts strong, scoring the first half ahead of Oscar Piastri on McLaren. The Scuderia started this second day with a more experimental than analytical approach. Numerous data were collected during the tests at Fiorano and on the first day yesterday. The feedback was evidently good, and the images of the track bear witness to it good driveability of the SF-24. Ferrari therefore preferred to dedicate this first part of the day to experimentation on the setup side. The Monegasque alternated fast laps and pit stops several times in order to evaluate every change to the car.
The Red Bull mechanics were quick as usual. Perez returns to the track shortly after the problem to continue collecting data on his single-seater. The winged bull team follows the same program as the stable but without setting a time.
The conclusion of the first part of the morning
The results of the first half of the morning of day 2 of the tests are visible Charles Leclerc's Ferrari took first place with a time of 1:31.750. follows Piastres at just over half a second, with Sargeant and Alonso behind him. The Sauber of Zhou he is immediately behind the Asturian. Behind the Chinese is gasly, in front of Hamilton on W15 presumed irregular, Hulkenberg, tsunoda e Perez, quite difficult in this first part.
The second half of the morning begins
Still some problems at Williams: Sargeant returns to the pits and gets out of the car, the causes of the stop are not clear. He continues to give hope to the red team led by Charles Leclerc: the SF24 performs well on the race pace simulation and is visibly improved on the front – excellent sign given the already excellent front end compared to last season – . The fuel loads are not known, but the extra step compared to last year seems increasingly concrete.
Red flag! Session aborted
The teams' race pace simulations are interrupted by asudden red flag. Lewis Hamilton, passing over the curb at the end of the second straight, it uprooted a piece of the roofing. A few seconds later Charles Leclerc ran over it, damaging his car. The Monegasque returned to the pits to check the surface, at the same time the race direction displayed the red flag, interrupting the session. A team of marshals then rushed to the scene to repair the damage. There were numerous minutes in which the single-seaters were forced into the pits.
A premature end
The race direction announced the premature end of this morning's testing. The damage caused by Mercedes number 44 was irreparable in the short term, so, the FIA decided to postpone everything until the afternoon. The first half of the day ends with Leclerc's Ferrari ahead of everyone with a 1:31.750. They follow Piastres, Sergeant e Perez. Behind the Mexican is Alonso, with his former teammate Hamilton a short distance away. They close the ranking Zhou, gasly, Hulkenberg e tsunoda. Appointment in the afternoon for the second chapter of this intense day.
