Carlos Sainz, driving for Williams, set the quickest lap time on the second day of pre-season testing in Bahrain. He outperformed both Ferrari drivers, finishing less than a tenth of a second ahead of them.
It’s important to note that testing lap times aren’t always a reliable indicator of competitive order. Williams themselves cautioned against assuming they have closed the gap to the top Formula 1 teams based on these results.
Thursday marked Sainz’s final session in the car before the first practice for the Australian Grand Prix. The Williams team seemed to concentrate on both qualifying and race simulations with their new driver.
Ferrari’s teammates, Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, were closely matched, separated by just 0.052 seconds at the end of the day. Hamilton recorded his time in the morning session before handing over driving duties to Leclerc for the afternoon.
Mercedes drivers George Russell (morning session) and Andrea Kimi Antonelli (afternoon session) finished in fourth and fifth positions respectively, with a mere 0.006 seconds between their lap times.
Many factors can skew testing lap times, including fuel levels, engine modes, and tire strategy. Williams team principal James Vowles advised against drawing firm conclusions from the fastest times.
Vowles suggested that the current close times are likely due to teams using different fuel loads and engine settings, masking the true performance differences. He believes this indicates the sport is becoming more competitive. However, he anticipates the real competitive order will only become clear at the Melbourne race, maintaining his view that McLaren, Ferrari, Red Bull, and Mercedes will likely remain the top four teams, with a significant gap to the midfield.
Red Bull had a relatively understated day, completing 91 laps with Liam Lawson. Lawson experienced a water pressure issue in the morning, limiting his running to 28 laps, and spent a considerable amount of time in the garage during the afternoon while the team worked on the car.
Similar to Sainz, this Bahrain test was Lawson’s last chance to drive before the first practice session in Australia on March 14th.
Lando Norris, considered a title contender after McLaren’s constructors’ championship win last year, finished in 14th place, highlighting the potentially misleading nature of testing classifications.
McLaren seemed to concentrate on aerodynamic testing in the morning with Oscar Piastri and shifted to long runs and a race simulation in the afternoon with Norris.
A minor on-track incident occurred when Piastri lightly hit the back of Nico Hulkenberg’s Sauber at Turn 7. Hulkenberg was moving aside for the McLaren, but Piastri went wide and made contact mid-corner. Both cars sustained no significant damage.
Light rain showers occurred throughout the day, briefly interrupting dry running in the morning session. Esteban Ocon from Haas used intermediate tires during the rain, while other teams waited for the track to dry before resuming testing on slick tires.
The final day of pre-season testing will take place in Bahrain on Friday.
Day Two Testing Times, Laps Completed, and Tire Compounds
Carlos Sainz – Williams – 1:29.348 – 127 laps – C3
Lewis Hamilton – Ferrari – 1:29.379 – 45 laps – C3
Charles Leclerc – Ferrari – 1:29.431 – 83 laps – C3
George Russell – Mercedes – 1:29.778 – 71 laps – C3
Kimi Antonelli – Mercedes – 1:29.784 – 87 laps – C3
Lance Stroll – Aston Martin – 1:30.229 – 57 laps – C3
Liam Lawson – Red Bull – 1:30.252 – 91 laps – C3
Jack Doohan – Alpine – 1:30.368 – 80 laps – C3
Pierre Gasly – Alpine – 1:30.430 – 40 laps – C3
Isack Hadjar – Racing Bulls – 1:30.675 – 94 laps – C3
Fernando Alonso – Aston Martin – 1:30.700 – 45 laps – C3
Yuki Tsunoda – Racing Bulls – 1:30.793 – 46 laps – C3
Oscar Piastri – McLaren – 1:30.821 – 44 laps – C3
Lando Norris – McLaren – 1:30.882 – 77 laps – C3
Gabriel Bortelto – Sauber 1:31.057 – 80 laps – C3
Nico Hulkenberg – Sauber – 1:31.457 – 56 laps – C3
Esteban Ocon – Haas – 1:33.071 – 69 laps – C3
Oliver Bearman – Haas – 1:34.372 – 66 laps – C3.
