Williams’ Carlos Sainz was quickest from Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton in an intriguing second day of F1 pre-season testing, the place Lando Norris sneakily confirmed McLaren’s actual tempo.
Sainz pipped Hamilton by 0.031s as Williams continued to impress, with Charles Leclerc getting each Ferraris within the prime three in third the place he was lower than one tenth behind.
Hamilton’s lap time was set within the morning when situations had been slower, so the seven-time world champion is getting in control properly at his new crew and was visibly extra snug within the automobile.
“It has been a extremely good couple of days. The climate acquired in the best way somewhat bit at this time however however we acquired via a number of the programme,” Hamilton stated.
“We’re simply specializing in exploring and, for me, getting built-in into the crew as a lot as doable. It’d appear to be it has been a very long time nevertheless it’s solely been a month with the crew, so we now have crammed in quite a bit in a brief house of time. And the automobile feels good on monitor.”
Hamilton’s former crew Mercedes had one other stable day with George Russell in fourth and Kimi Antonelli in fifth. Antonelli had a scruffy afternoon as he locked up a number of instances however averted a serious incident.
There was some uncommon testing contact within the morning although, with Oscar Piastri and Nico Hulkenberg touching at Flip Eight.
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Oscar Piastri and Nico Hulkenberg made contact coming into flip eight in the course of the morning session of day two Testing
‘Extraordinary’ Norris reveals McLaren’s true tempo
Intermittent rain all through the day brought about some sketchy moments for the drivers on the Bahrain Worldwide Circuit however as soon as it absolutely cleared for the final two hours, Norris shined on the lengthy runs.
Whereas Norris was solely 14th on the Day Two leaderboard, he accomplished a race simulation within the afternoon which caught the eye of these watching the timing screens.
Leclerc and Mercedes’ Antonelli additionally performed full race simulations and each drivers had been round one second per lap slower within the closing stint in comparison with Norris, suggesting McLaren’s long-run tempo and tyre put on is stronger than their rivals.
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Max Verstappen and Lando Norris had a hilarious response when requested how their relationship is now after their clashes on the monitor final season
“Norris did a 20-lap first stint, 18-lap second stint and 20-lap third stint and he is boxed so he is finished a full race distance. He was down into the 1:32s for lots of that closing stint,” stated Sky Sports activities F1‘s Karun Chandhok.
“Leclerc did an identical first two stints and is within the 1:33s and now the 1:34s in comparison with Norris within the 1:32s on an identical stint size. Antonelli is within the excessive 1:33s on his final stint. Norris is the outlier. It is terribly quick on his closing stint.”
Crimson Bull gave Liam Lawson a full day within the automobile however he solely accomplished 89 laps over eight hours as a result of a water strain failure within the morning and the crew needing to “service” the RB21 in the course of the afternoon.
Reigning world champion Max Verstappen shall be on the wheel for the entire of Friday, which shall be stay on Sky Sports activities F1 and totally free on the Sky Sports activities app from 7am.
We’re but to see Crimson Bull full a full race simulation to date however the Milton Keynes-based crew will certainly present their hand on the ultimate day of testing.
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Crimson Bull crew principal Christian Horner shares his ideas on the response each he and Max Verstappen obtained on the F1 75 Reside occasion on the O2
“The McLaren appears driver-friendly, predictable and has all of the traits you’d need, so they are going to be completely happy,” added Chandhok.
“I do not assume Ferrari or Mercedes shall be too upset however equally they are going to be involved in regards to the McLaren tempo.”
Bahrain Check Timesheet – Day Two timesheet
1) Carlos Sainz, Williams, 1:29.348, 127 laps*
2) Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari, 1:29.379, 45 laps
3) Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, 1:29.431, 83 laps
4) George Russell, Mercedes, 1:29.778, 71 laps
5) Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes, 1:29.784, 87 laps
6) Lance Stroll, Aston Martin, 1:30.229, 57 laps
7) Liam Lawson, Crimson Bull, 1:30.252, 91 laps*
8) Jack Doohan, Alpine, 1:30.368, 80 laps
9) Pierre Gasly, Alpine, 1:30.430, 40 laps
10) Isack Hadjar, Racing Bulls, 1:30.675, 94 laps
11) Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin, 1:30.700, 45 laps
12) Yuki Tsunoda, Racing Bulls, 1:30.793, 46 laps
13) Oscar Piastri, McLaren, 1:30.821, 44 laps
14) Lando Norris, McLaren, 1:30.882, 77 laps
15) Gabriel Bortoleto, Sauber, 1:31.057, 80 laps
16) Nico Hulkenberg, Sauber, 1:31.457, 56 laps
17) Esteban Ocon, Haas, 1:33.071, 69 laps
18) Oliver Bearman, Haas, 1:34.372, 66 laps
*Denotes drivers participated in each Thursday periods
Sky Sports activities F1’s stay pre-season testing schedule
Thursday February 27 – Day Two
- 8pm: Testing Wrap
- 8.30pm: Ted’s Testing Pocket book
Friday February 28 – Day Three
- 6.50am-11.05am: Morning Session
- 11.55am-4.05pm: Afternoon Session
- 8pm: Testing Wrap
- 8.30pm: Ted’s Testing Pocket book
- 9pm: Ted’s Growth Nook
When is the primary F1 race?
For the primary time since 2019, the season-opener shall be held in Melbourne on the Australian Grand Prix on March 14-16. The primary race has switched from Bahrain to Australia as a result of Ramadan going down all through March.
There are 24 occasions on the 2025 F1 calendar, the identical quantity as final yr, with the season ending on the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on December 5-7.
Watch all 24 race weekends from the 2025 System 1 season stay on Sky Sports activities F1, beginning with the Australian GP on March 14-16. Stream Sky Sports activities with NOW – No contract, cancel anytime
