The floodlights were on for FP2 in F1 Bahrain GP, but McLaren stayed in front with Oscar Piastri heading teammate Lando Norris, as George Russell slotted in third.
The floodlights didn’t change the running order at the top and didn’t change the grip levels by much, as drivers continued to lock-up and have a wide moment. The list of the drivers doing so was long, with a big one from Mercedes’ George Russell towards the end of the session at Turn 10.
He did a 360 degrees on the run-off but returned safely to continue on. The big one happened with Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso, whose steering wheel came loose on his first run. He had to readjust to return to the pits, where they changed the steering column as well to fix the issue.
After Lando Norris headed the way in FP1, it was Oscar Piastri in FP2 leading the way with a 1m30.505s lap over his McLaren teammate. Russell, meanwhile, slotted in third ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc – the two returning to run in FP2 after missing the first session.
Leclerc along with Lewis Hamilton undertook a different strategy of using multiple soft tyre run. Mercedes’ Andrea Kimi Antonelli was back running in fifth after missing much of FP1 due to an issue. Visa Cash App RB’s Isack Hadjar was sixth on the medium compound.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen was seventh after running two sets of the soft tyre. The Dutchman had a fun moment with Russell towards the end after the Brit passed him on track. Haas’ Oliver Bearman was ninth from William’s Carlos Sainz to round out the Top 10 runners.
Teammate Alexander Albon was 11th from Visa Cash App RB’s Liam Lawson and lead cars of Sauber, Alpine and Aston Martin at the hands of Gabriel Bortoleto, Jack Doohan and Alono in 13th, 14th and 15th, respectively. The Spaniard managed to complete good number of laps after missing early on.
Haas’ Esteban Ocon was 16th from Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, with Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda only 18th after bad run on his quick lap. Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll was 19th from Sauber’ Nico Hulkenberg to round out the 20 runners.
Here’s how FP1 panned out in F1 Bahrain GP
Here’s details on FIA meet