Carlos Sainz tops the timesheet in day two of F1 2024 testing

F1 2024 pre-season testing day two results

With Max Verstappen on the side lines, who will top the timesheet at the end of pre-season testing day two?

Rhiannon Temporal 23 min read

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Carlos Sainz tops the timesheet at the end of day two of F1 pre-season testing, as drain covers continue to haunt Ferrari

A dislodged drain cover causes chaos during day two of F1 2024 pre-season testing
A dislodged drain cover causes chaos during day two of F1 2024 pre-season testing. (Image Credit: @F1 on X)

After eight hours of running during day one of pre-season testing yesterday, Red Bull and Max Verstappen had the clear early advantage. However, it was Haas that completed the most laps with 148, with Williams at the other end of the spectrum with 61.

For day two, we will see 18 drivers in total with George Russell and Alex Albon sitting the day out. Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton and Logan Sargeant will compete in both sessions. This will be Hamilton’s first time testing the W15 in Bahrain, which has been raising a few eyebrows in the paddock. Additionally, this is also Sergio Perez’s first time getting behind the wheel of the RB20.

AM session
F1 pre-season day two session one gets underway
Day two of F1 pre-season testing session one gets underway, (Image Credit: @F1 on X)

Hamilton, Sargeant, Perez, Charles Leclerc, Oscar Piastri, Fernando Alonso, Pierre Gasly, Yuki Tsunoda, Zhou Guanyu, and Nico Hulkenberg will all take to the track during the first session on day two. As the pitlane light turns green, all the drivers aside from Visa Cash App RB’s Tsunoda were quick to take to the track.

Following the initial laps, it was Ferrari’s Leclerc at the top of the timesheet with a 1:37.055. With Hamilton, Perez, and Hulkenberg trailing behind as the only drivers to set a lap time.

During the first ten minutes of the session, we’d already seen the hard, soft and medium tyre compounds. It is also important to note that the AM session during day two will be ten minutes longer than previous sessions. This is due to a planned safety car test scheduled for the end of the session.

After completing his first lap time on day two, Sargeant jumped to the top of the timesheet with a 1:33.561. The American driver will be looking for a more straight forward session today following his off-track excursion yesterday.

Reliability woes for Red Bull

While everything looked smooth sailing for the reigning world champions yesterday, Perez’s first outing in pre-season testing was cut short. The Red Bull was suffering with overheating brakes, with a minor brake fire reported. The team’s mechanics were working hard to replace the brake disc to get the Mexican back on track as soon as possible.

With more drivers setting lap times, it was Sargeant still fastest. He was followed by Leclerc, Hamilton, Zhou, Perez, Tsunoda, and Hulkenberg. While Gasly, Piastri, and Alonso had all ventured out on track, none had set a timed lap 25 minutes into the session. After putting on a new set of tyres, Leclerc jumped back up to P1 with a 1:31.822. Completing his first timed effort this session, Gasly jumped up to P3 with a 1:33.804.

Aero rake central during the first hour

Continuing the theme from yesterday, many teams were sporting aero rakes of various sizes during the first hour of day two testing. The prize for the biggest aero rake, so far, goes to V-CARB and Tsunoda. The teams use aero rakes, which are covered in sensors, to get feedback relating to air flow and how it reacts to certain parts of the car.

After sitting out in the garage for over 30 minutes, Perez and his RB20 were back out on track following his brake issues. Even though the Mexican has missed a chunk of running, he was only five laps behind Sargeant who had completed the most at the time.

Almost an hour into the session, Piastri became the nineth driver to set a lap time. The young Australian posted a 1:32.446 which was good enough for P2. Only Aston Martin’s Alonso was yet to set a timed lap at this point. Shortly after, Leclerc extended his gap to the rest of the field after posting a 1:31.750. The Ferrari driver’s latest effort is only 0.376 off Verstappen’s quickest time yesterday.

After the first hour

The first driver to complete 20 laps during day two of pre-season testing was Zhou. Meanwhile, Alonso sat at the other end of the spectrum with only four laps completed. The two-time world champion also hadn’t set a timed lap within the first hour of the session. Leclerc remained at the top of the timesheet followed by Piastri, Sargeant, Gasly, Zhou, Hamilton, Hulkenberg, Tsunoda, Perez, and Alonso.

At the start of the second hour, Alonso was back out on track and set his first timed lap of the session. His 1:34.027 was quick enough for P5. With Alonso’s improvement, Red Bull’s Perez dropped down to P10.

So far, day two of pre-season testing has been quieter in comparison to day one. Many drivers have spent a lot of time in the pits, or completing smaller run plans.

We’ve already seen the aero rakes today, now the flow-vis paint makes a reappearance in Bahrain. As we close in on the two hour mark, Piastri was sporting flow-vis paint on the rear wing of his McLaren. During this run, the Australian broke the 20 lap barrier for his AM session. Only three drivers have failed to do this: Tsunoda (19 laps), Perez (15 laps), and Alonso (14 laps). Sargeant and Zhou had completed the most laps at this time, with 29 and 28 respectively.

Most drivers then started to move towards longer run plans. Meaning that while those out on track where pumping out lap times, there wasn’t much movement on the timing sheet. Piastri, Zhou, Hamilton, and Hulkenberg had all either completed or were continuing run plans that took them into the double digits of laps on the same tyre.

Problems at Williams?

As we close in on the halfway point of the first session on day two, the camera pans to Sargeant on the pit wall. We aren’t surprised to see a driver in the pitlane during testing, especially considering how quiet the day has been. However, the Williams driver was out of his race suit. Have the team found an issue with the car? At the very least, the Williams mechanics must be making a change that will leave the American out of the car for some time.

Throughout the pre-season, the pressure surrounding Sargeant and his second season in the sport has continued to rise. Although Williams allowed Sargeant to have a slow first season while he got used to competing at the pinnacle of motorsport, improvements are expected in 2024. A lot has already been made of Sargeant’s 5kg weight gain in the winter break, as the American aims to improve his physicality ahead of the longest season in F1 history. This, perhaps, was a direct result of his retirement in the draining Qatar Grand Prix last season. What can we expect from Sargeant this year?

At the halfway point

As we reach the halfway point of the first of the two sessions on day two of pre-season testing, Ferrari and Leclerc remain at the top of the timesheet. He was trailed by Piastri, Sargeant, Perez, Alonso, Hamilton, Zhou, Gasly, Hulkenberg, and Tsunoda. When looking at the amount of laps completed, the order is entirely different with Zhou leading the charge with 38 laps. He is followed by Tsunoda (34 laps), Hamilton (32 laps), Gasly (31 laps), Sargeant (30 laps), Leclerc (29 laps), Piastri (29 laps), Alonso (25 laps), Hulkenberg (24 laps), and Perez (20 laps).

In commentary, former Formula One driver turned Sky Sports F1 pundit Anthony Davidson gave his brief take on what we have learnt in testing so far. He said:

“We’re seen all teams improve as the cars all generally look a lot better. But Red Bull, and I know it’s early days, do seem to have found more than most. Therefore you have to start looking at the car [as everyone else] and say ‘where can we improve further?’”

While Perez currently only sits P4 on the timesheet with the least amount of laps completed, Verstappen’s pace on day one cannot be denied.

First red flag of the season

With less than an hour and 50 minutes left on the clock, we get the first red flag of pre-season testing. As all ten drivers sit in the pitlane, we wait for confirmation regarding what caused the red flag. As we already know, the red flag was not caused by driver error. Initially, it was believed that debris coming off Hamilton’s car caused the red flag. The Mercedes driver was side by side with Piastri going down to turn one.

However, race control confirmed the red flag was thrown for track inspection. The cameras soon turned to the run down to turn 11 which was clearly being inspected. It appears a small drain cover on a kerb was dislodged in an area of the track the drivers had been going over all session.

Race Director Niels Wittich was quick to arrive on the scene. Apparently, Ferrari’s bad luck continues in 2024. Leclerc appears to have dislodged the drain and gone over it a second time on the following lap. Additionally, Hamilton also went over the drain once it was dislodged. This may have been the cause behind the seven-time world champion’s debris at turn one.

Ferrari and Mercedes complete their checks

The contact that both Leclerc and Hamilton suffered appeared to be nowhere near as severe as that suffered by Carlos Sainz in Las Vegas last season. However, Ferrari took the floor off their car as a precaution, with Mercedes also checking Hamilton’s car.

After completing their checks on Leclerc’s floor, Ferrari remove the screens blocking the view of their garage. Whether Ferrari have reattached the old floor or put a new one on, is uncertain. But the Monegasque appears ready to take part in the session once more, when the red flag period comes to an end.

As the red flag period reaches its 30th minute, the personnel surrounding the dislodged drain has only continued to grow. The team’s unanimously wish they had more testing time, which has been significantly decreased over the years. This prolonged break, which has no end in sight, will significantly hamper both the teams and those drivers selected to take part in this session.

Perez, for example, has only completed 20 laps so far on day two of pre-season testing. In order to match the amount of laps Verstappen completed in day one, Perez will have to complete 123 laps during the PM session.

The AM session is ended prematurely

As we approach the one hour mark, race control announce that the session will not be resumed. As a result, the break has been brought forward by an hour. This allows track personnel to fix the dislodged drain cover. To accommodate for the time loss during the AM session, the PM session will run for five hours.

At the end of the session, Leclerc remained at the top of the timesheet having set a 1:31.750. Piastri, Sargeant, Perez, Alonso, Hamilton, Zhou, Gasly, Hulkenberg, and Tsunoda, rounded out the AM session runners.

Tsunoda completed the most laps in the first half of day two testing, with 40 laps. The Japanese driver was followed by Hamilton (39 laps), Zhou (38 laps), Leclerc (36 laps), Piastri (35 laps), Gasly (33 laps), Alonso (31 laps), Hulkenberg (31 laps), and Sargeant (30 laps). Perez was the only driver not to reach 30 laps, with the Red Bull driver rounding out the session with 20 laps completed.

The change in schedule wont affect the likes of Mercedes and Williams, who planned to the run the same driver all day anyway. However, the other eight teams on the grid may choose to not switch their drivers after the break.

F1 2024 day two pre-season testing AM final classification
F1 2024 day two pre-season testing AM session final classification. (Image Credit: Formula 1)
PM session

The second half of pre-season testing day two will run for an extra hour to make up for the lost time in session one. The AM session was brought to a premature end as Leclerc’s Ferrari dislodged a drain cover on the run down to turn 11. This brought out the first red flag of testing.

Since then, Ferrari have confirmed that they had to change the floor of Leclerc’s car. The Scuderia released the following statement:

“Following Charles’ accident this morning, when he drove over a drain cover, the floor was damaged and we have now changed it.”

As expected, some teams have decided to change which drivers will take part in the second half of testing on day two. Taking part in session two is:

  • Leclerc (Ferrari).
  • Perez (Red Bull).
  • Hamilton (Mercedes).
  • Sargeant (Williams).
  • Sainz (Ferrari).
  • Lando Norris (McLaren).
  • Lance Stroll (Aston Martin).
  • Esteban Ocon (Alpine).
  • Valtteri Bottas (Kick Sauber).
  • Daniel Ricciardo (Visa Cash App RB).
  • Kevin Magnussen (Haas).
Leclerc takes to the track
Charles Leclerc is the first car out during the second session of day two of testing
Charles Leclerc is the first car out during the second session of day two of pre-season testing. (Image Credit: @F1 on X)

It is great to see Leclerc lead the charge as the light goes green for the second session during day two of testing. While it will be a blow for Ferrari to lose a floor so early in the season, it is a positive that they will not miss out on track time. The Monegasque will only appear for the first 30 minutes of the session before he hands the car over to Sainz. The Spaniard was already scheduled to take part in this second session.

Leclerc was soon joined by Perez out on track. Unlike the Ferrari driver, Perez will remain in the car all day. This is a complete change to Red Bull’s schedule as they planned to have Verstappen compete during the second session today. The other eight teams will continue with their scheduled driver line-up. Meaning the reigning world champion will be one of three drivers that we will not see on track today.

The biggest losers of the red flag period

While no team benefited from the red flag period, certain drivers have been put at a greater disadvantage compared to others. The likes of Piastri, Gasly, Zhou, Hulkenberg, and Tsunoda, will all lose out compared to their teammates. To a slightly lesser degree, Leclerc will also lose out on time overall, although not as much as the others.

Both Leclerc and Perez started the session by completing a serious amount of laps with their medium tyres on their long runs. This current run is expected to be the only work the Ferrari driver will complete in this session before handing the car over to his teammate.

Ironically, Sainz was one of the first people to spot the loose drain cover that caused the red flag in the first session. The Spanish driver was standing near the drain cover, and spoke to the marshals about throwing a yellow flag. But his pleas came too late for Leclerc.

Sainz told F1 Journalist Will Buxton about the incident:

“I was actually standing right in front of the drain cover when it came out, because I went on track to see. And I was looking at it like, ‘yellow flag it, yellow flag it, yellow flag it – someone’s going to take it!’ Boom, my teammate came and took it.”

He continued, “So I felt like it could have been avoided in a way, but I missed by one lap. Because I went to speak to the marshal, and just when I was speaking to him, it happened.”

Leclerc’s session comes to an end

After completing 18 laps on the medium tyre, Leclerc’s day two testing session came to an end. The Ferrari driver leaves the session at the top of the timesheet with a 1:31.750. Throughout his run time on day two, he completed 54 laps in total. Now, we wait for the Scuderia to make the necessary changes to the car so Sainz can complete his first laps on day two.

Half an hour into the second session, and all drivers aside from Stroll and Sainz have set a time. Leclerc continues to lead the way with Piastri, Sargeant, Perez, Alonso, Hamilton, Zhou, Gasly, Bottas, and Magnussen rounding out the top 10. Session two additions Ricciardo and Norris sit in P11 and P12 respectively, with Ocon in P14.

Ricciardo returns to Bahrain testing

Another driver that will be hoping for a brilliant season this year is Ricciardo. The fan favourite Australian is hoping to return to Red Bull as Verstappen’s teammate for the 2025 season after leaving at the end of 2018. Of course, Ricciardo hasn’t taken part in a testing session in Bahrain since the 2021 season.

Last year, Ricciardo was simply Red Bull’s reserve driver and didn’t need to take part in testing. While in 2022 the Australian only competed in testing in Barcelona for McLaren, as he tested positive for COVID-19 ahead of the Bahrain testing days. Could a strong three day test this season put him in good stead for the rest of the year?

As we close in on the four hour mark, Stroll set his first timed lap of day two. A 1:32.598 from the Canadian is good enough to promote him to P4 behind Leclerc, Piastri, and Sargeant. The only driver left to set a time is Sainz.

Sargeant narrowly avoids a major moment
Logan Sargeant saves his Williams car from spinning
Logan Sargeant saves his Williams car from spinning. (Image Credit: @Cardriverf1 on X)

The young Williams driver hasn’t had the cleanest of sessions throughout day two of testing. However, his latest moment down at turn 10 was quite the save from the American driver.

As we finish the first hour of session two, Hamilton posted a 1:32.273 which was good enough for P2 on the timesheet. However, it is important to note that Leclerc’s time for P1 was set in the AM session. Meanwhile, Sainz’s first timed lap promoted him up to P8 with a 1:33.414.

Most drivers out on track at the time were committing to long runs. While Sainz, who had only completed nine laps so far in the session, posted a 1:31.856, which was good enough for P2 behind his teammate. Both Ferrari drivers set their fastest times on the same tyre, the C3.

Many of the drivers that were switched in for session two are already overtaking those from session one in terms of laps completed. 90 minutes into the session, this is how many laps each driver had completed on day two:

  • Perez 78 laps.
  • Hamilton 67 laps.
  • Leclerc 54 laps.
  • Sargeant 48 laps.
  • Tsunoda 40 laps.
  • Zhou 38 laps.
  • Piastri 35 laps.
  • Gasly 33 laps.
  • Ricciardo 32 laps.
  • Magnussen 32 laps.
  • Perez 31 laps.
  • Alonso 31 laps.
  • Hulkenberg 31 laps.
  • Bottas 30 laps.
  • Ocon 26 laps.
  • Stroll 19 laps.
  • Norris 13 laps.
  • Sainz 11 laps.
Ocon heads to the gravel

As we reach the three hour and 30 minute mark, Bottas jumped up to P3 with a 1:32.227. Shortly after, Ocon had a bad lockup at turn one. The Alpine driver used the entirety of the run-off area and ended up dipping his tyres in the gravel at the edge of the track.

Meanwhile, Norris dislodged Bottas from P3 with his latest effort. The British driver posted a 1:31.968, which also put him faster than his teammate. Many drivers decided to do lower fuel runs on the C3 tyre around the same time. Hamilton’s latest effort didn’t see him approve from P5. However, Sainz jumped in front of his teammate with his latest effort. The Spaniard posted a 1:31.397, which was 0.353 quicker than Leclerc’s best time.

As Sainz goes fastest, Ferrari’s Head of Chassis Area, Enrico Cardile, provided an update on the floor damage that their car suffered during session one. He said:

“The damage was on a small portion of the floor, nothing too worrying, we changed the floor and proceeded with our plan – no drama. In terms of driver feedback, they are well aligned – we didn’t find any bad surprises, so that is a good starting point.”

While the floor damage is a set back for the team, aside from the damaged suffered and the time lost, their test seems to be going as planned.

As Cardile makes his statement, Norris manages to split the two Ferrari drivers on the timesheet. The McLaren driver posted a 1:31.622, which is only 0.225 off Sainz’s best time. Additionally, Stroll’s latest effort of 1:32.029 was good enough for P4.

Sainz is the first driver to set a competitive lap time on the C4 compound. With three hours left on the clock, the Ferrari driver posted a 1:30.686. This is the quickest time we have seen in testing so far, with Verstappen holding the fastest time during day one, which was a 1:31.344. The Spanish driver’s soft tyre effort put him 0.936 ahead of the rest of the field on day two.

Red Bull are hit with reliability issues again

After heading out with flow-vis paint on his car, Perez was spotted driving very slowly on his out lap. Reportedly, his issues started when he initially left the pit lane. However the cameras only picked up the Mexican driving slowly around the final corner of the track as he headed back to the pits. Thankfully, that part of the track is downhill, which would have helped him keep up momentum.

While Red Bull’s issues continue today, after their brake problem this morning, Sainz extended his lead at the top of the timesheet. His latest effort was a 1:30.424. Could we see a one minute 29 at some point today? Norris also closed the gap to Sainz with his latest lap time, a 1:31.256, which is 0.832 behind his former teammate.

Whatever issue Perez appeared to be suffering with was quickly rectified by the team as the Mexican was back out on track in no time. His latest lap time, a 1:32.438 put him above the Williams of Sargeant. Perez and Hamilton were the first drivers to get over the 80 lap threshold, with 83 and 82 laps respectively.

Leclerc and Albon on testing so far

Following his shortened session today, Leclerc opened up about what can be taken away from testing so far:

“My initial feeling is that Red Bull are still quite far ahead. I think our drivability will help us, in terms of race runs and tyre degradation, I think we are in a better place.”

The Monegasque’s best effort today, a 1:31.750, is still good enough for P3. Meanwhile, Williams driver Alex Albon also provided his perspective on testing so far, saying:

“It seems the Red Bulls and Ferraris are not affected by the wind, they can just turn where they want to turn and aren’t struggling where the rest of us are struggling.”

He continued, “Our balance windows and our speed will merge to the norm, I still think that being said Monza will be good for us but we’ll be better at tracks like this for example.”

Meanwhile, Sainz was lighting up the timing screens once again on his latest run. On another set of new C4 tyres, the Ferrari driver broke into the one minute 29s with a 1:29.921. While we are always reminded that this is ‘only testing’, Sainz’s latest effort is only 0.213 off Verstappen’s pole lap in 2023.

Two hours remaining…

As the sun begins to set and we dip under the two hour mark, Sainz remains at the top of the timesheet with a 1:29.921. Norris, Leclerc, Perez, Stroll, Bottas, Hamilton, Piastri, Sargeant, and Alonso round out the top 10. The other session two drivers sit in P11 (Ricciardo), P14 (Ocon), and P15 (Magnussen).

We are still to see a driver break the 100-lap threshold, however, both Perez and Hamilton are close with 97 and 98 laps respectively. The award for least laps completed on day two of testing, so far, goes to the man who is also fastest. At the two hour mark, Sainz was one of two drivers yet to break the 30-lap threshold. The other being second place man Norris.

At the one hour 50 mark Perez, who completed the fewest amount of laps in the AM session, was the first to break the 100-lap threshold. The Mexican also jumped up to P3 with a 1:31.461. The only other drivers relatively close are Hamilton (98 laps) and Sargeant (89 laps), with the former in the pits. Sargeant, however, was out on track completing a long run with a set of C3 tyres.

Within 10 minutes of Perez getting there, Hamilton became the second driver to cross the 100-lap threshold. Yesterday, only two drivers completed over 100 laps, Verstappen (142 laps) and Russell (121 laps). But with one hour 30 minutes left on the clock, Sargeant became the third driver to reach 100 laps completed.

Issues for McLaren and Norris

Discounting the drivers that were part of the AM session, Norris has the fewest number of laps on the board as we draw into the final hour of testing on day two. With 37 laps completed, is this the end of the Brit’s session? His McLaren is stuck in the garage with the engine cover off and it appears the mechanics are dealing with some kind of issue.

We wasn’t expecting a mega push lap from the papaya team, with McLaren along with Alpine opting not to bring any C4 tyres to Bahrain. But if this is it for Norris, McLaren would have only clocked 72 laps on day two of testing.

As we close in on the final hour of pre-season testing on day two, Sainz remains at the top of the timesheet with a 1:29.921. Norris, Perez, Leclerc, Stroll, Bottas, Hamilton, Piastri, Ricciardo, and Ocon round out the top 10. Other PM session runners include Sargeant (P11) and Magnussen (P15).

In terms of laps completed, there are four more drivers that could potentially reach the 100 lap mark before we reach the end of the session. Stroll (71 laps), Bottas (73 laps), Ricciardo (71 laps), and Magnussen (72 laps), with all four having enough time to get to the century.

Quick laps incoming

As we dip under the one hour mark, many of the drivers started heading out to set what we expect to be the quickest times of the day. Hamilton went out on track seemingly with less fuel and a new set of C3 tyres. His latest effort was a 1:31.066 and good enough for P2. Ocon also improved up to P7 with a 1:32.199.

Next up is Ricciardo, who is looking to improve from P10. While it was his quickest effort so far in the session, a 1:32.011, the car looked heavier and was only good enough for P6. Ricciardo’s C3 run was only the build-up as the Aussie took a set of C4 soft tyres on a push lap with 45 minutes to go. His effort resulted in a 1:31.411, which was good enough for P5 and put him only 0.136 behind Perez.

As Ocon fails to improve above P8 on his new set of C3 tyres, Norris and Perez were back out on track with brand new sets of the same compound. However, Norris failed to use the DRS as he opened up his timed lap, so more race runs for the McLaren. On the other hand, Perez set personal best sectors across the entire lap. But it was only a 1:30.684 in the end for the Mexican which put him P2 behind Sainz and 0.763 adrift from the Ferrari driver.

Reliability issues continue for Sargeant

It has been awhile since Sargeant was out on track, and now we know why. The Williams driver reportedly had a wheel hub issue with a loose part also hindering the team’s progress. With over 30 minutes left on the clock, there is plenty of time for the mechanics to fix the issue and get the American driver back out on track. He’s put in a good shift today, having completed 117 laps so far, which is the third largest amount seen in day two.

Checking in on the four drivers who were on track to also reach the century, Bottas is the closest with 90 laps. The Finnish driver is followed by Ricciardo (80 laps), Stroll (89 laps), and Magnussen (85 laps). Meanwhile, Sainz has also been putting in an extensive amount of laps and has honed in on this group with 80 laps completed. 25 minutes remain of pre-season testing day two, can anyone else join the 100 club?

A mini-race to end day two of pre-season testing

After the safety car procedure was called earlier than expected, we had a simulated safety car restart with Hamilton, Norris, Bottas, Perez, Ocon, and Magnussen, all taking part. Complete with Hamilton starting on fake pole, we saw Bottas overtake Norris with the whole field incredibly close together.

Following the lap of race-like conditions, most of the drivers then took part in a selection of standing starts on the grid. Shortly after, red flag conditions were back, with all drivers returning back to the pits.

F1 pre-season testing day two final classification
Final classification of testing on day two
Final classification of testing on day two. (Image Credit: @F1 on X)

After eight hours of pre-season testing on day two, its Ferrari and Sainz at the top of the timesheet. So far, the Spaniard is the only driver to break into the one minute 29s in pre-season testing. Perez, Hamilton, Norris, Ricciardo, Leclerc, Stroll, Ocon, Bottas, and Piastri round out the top 10. Only three drivers completed over 100 laps throughout day 2, with Perez completing the most with 129 laps. He was followed by Hamilton (123 laps) and Sargeant (117 laps). However, Bottas (97 laps) and Magnussen (93 laps) both came close.

At the bottom of the timesheet, of the drivers that took part, was Tsunoda in P17. The Japanese driver was joined by Hulkenberg (P16) and Magnussen (P15). Aside from the dramatic red flag period during the AM session, day two was rather plain sailing. Red Bull, McLaren, and Williams, who all suffered minor reliability issues, were all able to solve their problems easily.

Bahrain pre-season testing concludes tomorrow after another eight hours, then it’ll be lights out at the Sakhir circuit next week for the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Feature Image Credit: @F1 on X

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