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 high three in third the place he was lower than one tenth behind.
Hamilton’s lap time was set within the morning when circumstances had been slower, so the seven-time world champion is getting on top of things properly at his new group and was visibly extra snug within the automotive.
“It’s been a really good couple of days. The weather got in the way a little bit today but nevertheless we got through a lot of the programme,” he stated.
“We are just focusing on exploring and, for me, getting integrated into the team as much as possible. It might seem like it’s been a long time but it’s only been a month with the team, so we have crammed in a lot in a short space of time. And the car feels good on track.”
‘Extraordinary’ Norris reveals McLaren’s true tempo
Intermittent rain all through the day precipitated some sketchy moments for the drivers on the Bahrain Worldwide Circuit however as soon as it totally 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’ Kimi Antonelli additionally carried out full race simulations and each drivers had been round one second per lap slower within the ultimate stint in comparison with Norris, suggesting McLaren’s long-run tempo and tyre put on is stronger than their rivals.
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Oscar Piastri and Nico Hulkenberg made contact coming into flip eight through the morning session of day two Testing
“Norris did a 20-lap first stint, 18-lap second stint and 20-lap third stint and he’s boxed so he’s done a full race distance. He was down into the 1:32s for a lot of that final stint,” stated Sky Sports activities F1‘s Karun Chandhok.
“Leclerc did a similar first two stints and is in the 1:33s and now the 1:34s compared to Norris in the 1:32s on a similar stint length. Antonelli is in the high 1:33s on his last stint. Norris is the outlier. It’s extraordinarily fast on his final stint.”
Crimson Bull gave Liam Lawson a full day within the automotive however he solely accomplished 89 laps over eight hours as a result of a water stress failure within the morning and the group needing to “service” the RB21 through the afternoon.
Extra to observe…
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 can 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 12 months, with the season ending on the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on December 5-7.
Watch all 24 race weekends from the 2025 Components 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
