Bahrain – FP2: Mercedes Regain Power

First session of the year to take place at night, the second free practice of the Bahrain Grand Prix occurs in a much cooler atmosphere, allowing all teams to test the softest tires.

Victim of an engine failure on his Honda in the morning, Jenson Button, in his McLaren, hoped to do more than his two morning laps. It was in vain for the Briton, as his power unit once again deprived him of full participation in the session.

From the start, it’s Nico Rosberg in his Mercedes who shows the fastest pace, quickly joined by his teammate Lewis Hamilton. The two Mercedes are untouchable, and only the Ferraris manage to get close to the silver arrows, but still nearly half a second behind.

Romain Grosjean, who got back behind the wheel of his Lotus after handing it over to Jolyon Palmer during FP1, will have difficulty finding the right settings on the E23, which is clearly lacking in track time. Ranked 13th, he is significantly outpaced by his teammate, Pastor Maldonado, who achieved the 7th fastest time, more than 8 tenths ahead of the Frenchman.

Fernando Alonso in the other McLaren will not encounter any major problems and will sign a good 12th fastest time, although it is likely that he might fall back during the qualifying session tomorrow.

The session thus ends with the best time set by Rosberg, who was called back at the last minute by his team due to an as-yet unidentified issue with the telemetry.

2015 Bahrain Grand Prix – Free Practice 2: