After the unusual top 3 Ricciardo-Norris-Piastri in the first free practice in the morning, the1-2 Mercedes ahead of Alonso brought back some normality in free practice 2 in Bahrain. If we can talk about normality, because Verstappen it closed sixth Once again. So let's see what happened in the second free practice session in Bahrain, while waiting for tomorrow's qualifying.
Free practice 2 Bahrain, Mercedes in the lead
An unexpectedly cold session in Bahrain, with 18% instead of the usual 26/27. The first half hour of the session is characterized by general caution, with the riders preferring to familiarize themselves with the vehicle and the track rather than pushing for a lap time.
So much so that the best time after 25 minutes was set by Lewis Hamilton (1:30.374), it is also slower than the best time set by Charles Leclerc in testing (1:30.322). In all likelihood, tomorrow's pole position time will be faster by about a couple of seconds. In any case, Mercedes it has definitely improved: Hamilton's time is already faster than his Q3 lap in 2023.
First part of FP2 enough agitated, instead, for the world champion Max Verstappen and for Leclerc. The Dutchman never goes beyond third place and complains about too much air in his helmet, while the Monegasque is forced to abort several laps due to small errors. On the other side of the Red Bull garage, Perez he only managed to climb up to tenth place, complaining of problems understeer.
He also lifts his foot often Norris, which after 32 minutes is in last position, while his teammate Piastri is fifth. Mercedes seems faster than in last week's tests: in addition to Hamilton's first place, Russell salt in second position despite a not very clean ride.
Race pace simulation: incredible consistency for Verstappen
In the last part of the session, all drivers start race pace simulation. Unlike the flying lap, Perez it seems the most in shape in the first minutes on the race pace. Also Plates e above all Verstappen they are competitive, riding on the1.36.5 without traffic, while Ferraris and Mercedes are off by a couple of tenths.
The top 10 at the end of free practice 2 sees Hamilton and Russell ahead of Alonso, then Sainz, Piastri, Verstappen, Hulkenberg, Stroll, Perez and Leclerc completing the top 10. Mercedes strong on the flying lap, Red Bull unrivaled on the race pace . Will we see this tomorrow and Saturday too? The appointment is tomorrow at 13pm for the third free practice and at 16 for the first qualifications of the season.
