The McLarens claimed the top of the timing sheets for both FP1 and FP2 on Friday at the F1 Bahrain GP. In FP1, Lando Norris achieved the fastest lap time of 1:33.204, with Australian teammate Oscar Piastri finishing the session in P10. FP2 saw Piastri go fastest with a 1:30.505, and Norris finished P2.
Weather conditions proved difficult on Friday at the Bahrain GP
The first two free practice sessions displayed the pace of the McLarens this weekend in Bahrain. However, McLaren driver Lando Norris detailed that the pace he found in the car was in the face of difficult circumstances with the track itself.
Lando Norris showed his frustration with the status of the track in an interview following the two free practice sessions on Friday.
“A difficult day, just re-adapting back to the reality of Bahrain, the difficulties of Bahrain, which make it tough.
“It’s kind of weird today because everything feels dreadful, but I think relatively our pace was still in a reasonable place. I think a reasonable Friday.”
When asked if the “dreadful” feeling was due to the car itself or the conditions of the track, Norris asserted the weather played a big role in his perceived struggle with the car.
“I think it’s just conditions. It’s just the temperature, it’s hot, it’s windy… it’s more the temperature which makes such a big difference. It is what it is; it’s the same challenge for everyone.”
Much to learn going into the Bahrain GP, even with the amount of laps logged during pre-season testing
Despite Bahrain International Circuit hosting F1 pre-season testing ahead of the 2025 championship season, the McLaren team still have a lot to learn about the conditions of this track. Through FP1, a strong wind at the final corner of the Bahrain circuit caused massive bouts of understeer, causing many drivers crucial lap time. Across the grid, drivers were consistently struggling for grip as they logged laps.
In his interview with the media, Lando Norris shared that the Friday track conditions have negated any information that they previously had for this circuit from testing. Norris is concerned about the heightened tyre wear he experienced during these two sessions thus far.
“It will make it exciting on Sunday because the degradation is incredible today comparing to the test.”
“A big challenge is how can you look after the rear tyres in the best way possible. A lot of it is… we came into this weekend with a lot of our information from the pre-season test, but it’s basically like throw all of that in the bin and just start again because it’s so different today.”
After a rapid FP2 session, Oscar Piastri is happy with the pace of the McLaren car
Finishing down in P10 in FP1, Piastri and his McLaren team were able to come back much stronger in FP2. Following Friday’s sessions, Oscar Piastri was singing a different tune than his teammate, feeling positive about the pace of the MCL39 this weekend in Bahrain.
“I’m pretty happy, to be honest.
When speaking to the media after the two free practice sessions, Piastri stated that he feels confident in both the one-lap pace and the longer stint.
“The car felt like it was in a good place. FP1 was a very different story! I’m glad that everything came together a bit more. I think the one-lap pace looked strong, and the longer running looked reasonable as well.”
In FP2, the rest of the field finished over five-tenths of a second off of Piastri’s fastest time. When asked if this large gap to their fellow front-runners was a surprise, the Australian driver stated his mixed feelings about what this result indicates for the rest of the race weekend.
“I think for it to be quite that big was a bit of a surprise, but I think the others will find a bit more tomorrow – I think it will be pretty close.”
Despite the McLarens’ dominant display of pace on Friday, the difficult conditions of the track mean that nothing is promised going into qualifying on Saturday.
“It’s nice to have [pace] now, but Bahrain is also a track that you can overtake on, and tyre deg is a big, big factor. Qualifying here is still going to be important, but I think we need to make sure we’ve got a good race car as well.”
