Piastri leads in the second practice session
The second part of the free races
Dark. Dry. Air +30...29C, highway +35...34C
The first training session in Bahrain turned out to be somewhat hectic due to six young pilots at once, but in the second the main drivers got behind the wheel and work began.
The second Friday training session is the most useful in Bahrain, it takes place at the same time and in the same conditions as the main weekend sessions.
We worked with Soft and Medium for most of the session, it was almost impossible to achieve the desired grip from Hard, but with each session the trajectory is covered with used rubber and the condition of the track gradually improves.
At the beginning of the session, Alonso returned to the pits due to problems with the steering wheel, which periodically turned off, so Fernando had to take it off on the track, then put it back on to continue driving. Alonso lost the first half of the second training session, but then he pulled out.
Many went off the highway. Verstappen complained about the brakes and the rocking, but there were no incidents – even beginners know the track well from testing and racing.
Oscar Piastri led the protocol, his McLaren team–mate Lando Norris conceded one and a half tenths, the rest - much more.
The second part of the free races
Pilot
The Time Team
Difference
Circles
1. About.Piastri
McLaren
1:30.505
-
29
2. L.Norris
McLaren
1:30.659
+0.154
28
3 . d.Russell
Mercedes
1:31.032
+0.527
25
4 . S. Leclerc
Ferrari
1:31.045
+0.540
27
5 . K.Antonelli
Mercedes
1:31.227
+0.722
27
6 . A.Hajjar
Racing Bulls
1:31.238
+0.733
24
7 . M.Verstappen
Red Bull
1:31.330
+0.825
27
8. L. Hamilton
Ferrari
1:31.576
+1.071
23
9 O. Berman
Haas
1:31.584
+1.079
27
10. K.Sainz
Williams
1:31.623
+1.118
28
11. A.Elbon
Williams
1:31.696
+1.191
29
12. L. Lawson
Racing Bulls
1:31.706
+1.201
27
13. The city of Bortoleto
Sauber
1:31.772
+1.267
25
14. D. Duane
Alpine
1:31.788
+1.283
27
15. F.Alonso
Aston Martin
1:31.825
+1.320
19
16. E.Okon
Haas
1:31.870
+1.365
27
17. P.Gasli
Alpine
1:31.947
+1.442
27
18. Yu.Tsunoda
Red Bull
1:32.024
+1.519
25
19. L. Stroll
Aston Martin
1:32.382
+1.877
27
20. N. Hulkenberg
Sauber
1:32.496
+1.991
24
The first part of the free races
Sunny. Dry. The air is +35C, the highway is +48...46C
During the season, teams are required to work out four Friday training sessions with young pilots, and many chose the Bahrain stage for this, where newcomers took the wheel in six teams at once.
Max Verstappen lost the car to SuperFormula leader Ayumu Iwase. Frederic Vesti temporarily replaced George Russell at Mercedes, Felipe Drugovich trained with Aston Martin, and Rio Hirakawa, who completed training at Alpine last week, got behind the wheel of Haas F1 in Bahrain. Luke Browning worked out a training session with Williams.
All these drivers have already participated in Formula 1 training, only Dino Beganovich, who replaced Charles Leclair at Ferrari, made his debut in the official session of the weekend.
The first training session is not very useful for preparing for the main events of the weekend, which will take place at night in cooler weather, but the teams also tried to gather maximum information with the newcomers, working with cars and tires for the first time this year in conditions of high air temperature and asphalt.
Pirelli brought the toughest rubber compounds to the stage – C1 in the role of Hard, C2 - Medium and C3 - Soft. The riders started training on Hard and Medium, and switched to Soft in the second half of the session. Many complained about a serious lack of grip, and the basic settings selected in winter tests did not work in hot weather.
Despite the abundance of young people, the session was held calmly, and wide security zones helped to avoid problems. Vesti and Hajjar were driving off the highway.
Tsunoda and Elbon almost collided in the pit lane. Alex was released right in front of Yuki, who swerved to the right to avoid a collision, and then overtook his opponent in the pit lane, which is prohibited, and received an official warning.
Later, Browning and Albon shifted towards each other at high speed and Alex had to turn sharply to avoid a collision. Williams got the blame for this incident – the team was fined 7,500 euros for not warning Elbon of Browning's approach – he could not see his opponent from the cockpit due to the profile of the track.
Antonelli complained of a loss of power, slowly returned to the pits and did not leave again. The mechanics did not immediately manage to disconnect the gearbox from the engine on his car.
Lando Norris led the record, completing a lap in 1:33.204. Frederick Vesti had the most laps with 26.
The first part of the free races
Pilot
The Time Team
Difference
Circles
1. L.Norris
McLaren
1:33.204
-
23
2. P.Gasly
Alpine
1:33.442
+0.238
23
3 . L. Hamilton
Ferrari
1:33.800
+0.596
23
4 . A.Elbon
Williams
1:33.928
+0.724
24
5 . E.Okon
Haas
1:34.184
+0.980
19
6 . N.Hulkenberg
Sauber
1:34.262
+1.058
24
7 . D.Duane
Alpine
1:34.396
+1.192
23
8 . L. Lawson
Racing Bulls
1:34.397
+1.193
23
9 . Yu.Tsunoda
Red Bull
1:34.484
+1.280
23
10. O.Piastri
McLaren
1:34.508
+1.304
25
11. The city of Bortoleto
Sauber
1:34.628
+1.424
23
12. A.Hajjar
Racing Bulls
1:34.667
+1.463
22
13. L. Browning
Williams
1:34.885
+1.681
20
14. D. Beganovich
Ferrari
1:35.055
+1.851
20
15. L.Stroll
Aston Martin
1:35.116
+1.912
23
16. F.Drugovich
Aston Martin
1:35.198
+1.994
19
17. R.Hirakawa
Haas F1
1:35.261
+2.057
20
18. F.Lead
Mercedes
1:35.325
+2.121
26
19. A.Iwasa
Red Bull
1:35.475
+2.271
20
20. K.Antonelli
Mercedes
1:38.051
+4.847
3
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