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Laurence Edmondson
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Nate Saunders
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F1 Associate Editor- • Previously worked in rugby union and British Superbikes
• History graduate from Reading University
• Joined ESPNF1 in February 2014
Formula One’s second day of three preseason tests is underway at the Bahrain International Circuit.
It is the only track time allocated to teams ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix on March 28.
What’s happened so far?
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Mercedes’ difficult start to testing continued on the second morning in Bahrain when Lewis Hamilton spun while pushing on a quick lap in the new W12. He lost the rear of the car at Turn 13 and ended up in the gravel, where his car became beached. In order to retrieve the Mercedes from the gravel, the session was red flagged. Valtteri Bottas drove the car in the afternoon.
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Nicholas Latifi and Carlos Sainz also spun earlier in the session after they lost control in separate incidents between Turns 7 and 8. High winds cross the circuit in that area and were likely to blame. Both drivers kept their car out of the barrier and kept running.
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Red Bull appeared to attempt a race simulation in the afternoon, indicating the team is nicely advanced in its preseason schedule, while offering a glimpse of its potential performance at the opening race in Bahrain in two weeks. However, Sergio Perez parked the car during the final stint.
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A second red flag was caused by Perez’s engine cover coming off on the pit straight as he moved out of the slipstream of Nicholas Latifi’s car and the change in air pressure lifted the bodywork off. Debris was left all over the straight, resulting in a stoppage in the session.
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Sebastian Vettel was limited to just six laps after a gearbox problem on his Aston Martin. The new AMR21 uses a 2020-spec Mercedes gearbox, but it is unclear if the issue is in anyway related to the problem suffered by the works team on Friday.
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New McLaren recruit Daniel Ricciardo held the fastest time after 2 hours and 30 minutes of running, 0.124s ahead of the man who replaced him at his old team, Fernando Alonso.
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It was Alonso’s first day back as a full-time F1 driver in two years and he had a productive morning with over 40 laps in the first three hours for Alpine.
Times (with one hour remaining)
1. Norris – McLaren – 1:30.586 – 31 laps (C4)
2. Gasly – AlphaTauri – 1:30.825 – 66 laps (C4)
3. Giovinazzi – Alfa Romeo – 1:30.881 – 111 laps (C4)
4. Bottas – Mercedes – 1:31.245 – 41 laps (P)
5. Perez – Red Bull – 1:32.478 – 39 laps (C2)
6. Leclerc – Ferrari – 1:32.009 – 57 laps (C3)
7. Ricciardo – McLaren – 1:32.215 – 52 laps (C3)
8. Alonso – Alpine – 1:32.339 – 60 laps (C2)
9. Stroll – Aston Martin – 1:32.406 – 54 laps (C3)
10. Latifi – Williams – 1:32.541 – 47 laps (C5)
11. Tsunoda – AlphaTauri – 1:32.684 – 57 laps (C4)
12. Schumacher – Haas – 1:32.883 – 56 laps (C4)
13. Sainz – Ferrari – 1:33.072 – 56 laps (C3)
14. Mazepin – Haas – 1:33.101 – 76 laps (C4)
15. Hamilton – Mercedes – 1:33.399 – 58 laps (C2)
16. Vettel – Aston Martin – 1:38.849 – 10 laps (P)
(Tyre compound in brackets. P = Prototype, which is equivalent to C3)
Who’s driving?
Mercedes – Hamilton (AM), Bottas (PM)
Red Bull – Perez
McLaren – Ricciardo (AM), Norris (PM)
Aston Martin – Vettel (AM), Stroll (PM)
Alpine – Alonso
Ferrari – Sainz (AM), Leclerc (PM)
AlphaTauri – Tsuonda (AM), Gasly (PM)
Alfa Romeo – Giovinazzi
Haas – Mazepin (AM), Schumacher (PM)
Williams – Latifi
