After an hour-long lunch break, F1 returns for the afternoon session on the second day of pre-season testing at the Bahrain International Circuit.
Most of the drivers will now be switching out and handing the car over to their teammates. However, Liam Lawson and Carlos Sainz will be getting back behind the wheel for Red Bull and Williams respectively, both drivers penciled in for a full day of running. Lawson in particular will be keen to rack up more mileage, having completed just 28 laps during the morning session as the RB21 suffered an engine water pressure issue. Lewis Hamilton set the pace earlier in the day, topping the timesheet with a 1:29.379.
The sky remains overcast as the session kicks off at 1500 local time, the floodlights already on and illuminating the circuit. Rain has disrupted both the morning session and Day 1 of testing, and according to the latest forecast, there’s a 60% chance of further showers this afternoon.
First hour
Racing Bulls rookie Isack Hadjar is the first driver to head out. Charles Leclerc reports drops of rain as he sets out for his run. The Ferrari pitwall confirmed that they expect these conditions to persist for the next 20-30 minutes.
Elsewhere, Kimi Antonelli has a shaky start to the afternoon with an early lock-up at Turn 1.
Carlos Sainz jumps to the top of the timesheet within the first half hour of running, posting a 1.29.366 before returning to the pits. There has been no sign of Aston Martin or McLaren so far.
The rookies are having some wobbles as they search for the limit; Bearman has a hairy moment, kicking up a spray of gravel, while Antonelli is seen locking up again, running onto the gravel at Turn 10.
Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll makes an appearance on the track as the first hour draws to a close, but quickly returns to the pitlane. Lando Norris heads out shortly after.
Second hour
Sainz still sits on top of the pile as the second hour of Thursday afternoon’s F1 pre-season testing gets underway, narrowly ahead of Hamilton’s morning benchmark. Leclerc has moved into third.
Sainz has a spin at Turn 1, briefly facing the wrong way out on the track, but he has plenty of run-off space available to correct his position and get going again without issue.
Norris has less than ten laps to his name so far this afternoon. That’s a surprisingly low tally at this stage, though there’s been no reports of issues from McLaren. It’s expected that he will put more laps on the board before the end of the PM session.
A big lock-up for Alpine rookie Jack Doohan—he goes straight onto the run-off at Turn 4 after locking up under braking.
Another spin follows shortly after. It’s Leclerc this time, spinning at the final corner, completing a neat 360 before dipping into the pits. Perhaps he’s been caught out by the damp track surface? He’s seen climbing out of the car and disappearing inside the garage, indicating a longer pause for the Ferrari driver.
Third hour
The top three remains unchanged as we enter the final two hours of today’s F1 testing session: Sainz, Hamilton (morning laptime), Leclerc.
The skies continue to darken as natural light fades over Bahrain, the day crawling to a close. Doohan has another off-road moment at the final corner. Meanwhile, Leclerc returns to the circuit.
Sainz is the latest to go wide, in the same place as Doohan, though the slide is more controlled in the Williams driver’s case.
It’s been a productive afternoon for Lawson, who has now logged 50 laps, adding to the 28 he completed in the morning. The sidepod of the RB21 is splashed with flow-vis paint. Turn 1 has been giving the drivers some trouble in this session; Lawson suffers a lockup and goes wide.
Norris is steadily banking laps. Elsewhere, Sauber’s rookie driver Gabriel Bortoleto has a shaky moment.
The long runs are in full swing now, with the drivers working to gather valuable data before the end of the day.
Fourth hour
Pacesetter Carlos Sainz remains busy, becoming the first driver to hit 100 laps with one hour of running remaining. He stays at the top of the leaderboard with the 1:29.348 lap he posted in the first hour of the PM session.
Leclerc and Norris are deep into their long runs on the hard tyre. Norris remains 13th on the timesheets, just behind his McLaren teammate, Oscar Piastri. The reigning champions appear fairly comfortable despite their relatively low mileage so far.
Meanwhile, Lawson encounters another delay. The RB21 has been stationary for some time in the garage. Between the morning setback and this latest spell, Lawson is still on 80-odd laps, despite having the car to himself for the full day. According to Red Bull, the car requires some servicing between runs.
With around 40 minutes left on the clock, Lawson returns to the track.
Back to the pits for Bearman, a wall of mechanics shielding the Haas car as it’s being worked on. Quick stop for Norris before he sets out again. Meanwhile, Antonelli continues his long-run program for Mercedes. In the final minutes of the afternoon session, Norris’s McLaren is seen running with fresh tyres and a coat of flow-vis on.
Drivers line up for some practice starts. Sainz had a very productive day, clocking the fastest time and completing the most amount of laps (127). The top 3 remains unchanged, with Sainz leading Hamilton and Leclerc.
And that concludes the second day of F1 pre-season testing in Bahrain.
