Private Testing Bahrain – Day 2: Russell Tops the Standings
The protégé of Mercedes, George Russell, managed to secure the fastest lap in this private testing session in Bahrain.
Unlike yesterday, the rain was not present today, which allowed the drivers to run more laps than those who drove the day before. No fewer than seven drivers were able to complete more than 100 laps. A huge contrast compared to yesterday when Lewis Hamilton could only complete 77 laps.
It’s George Russell onboard the Mercedes who set the fastest time of the day with a lap of 1’29’029 on C5 tires, the softest ones. The young Mercedes protégé surely had the opportunity to compare the FW42 to the W10, which must be very different to drive since the performances are not the same. Driving a different car than usual taught me many things that I can retain to improve my driving.
Fastest time of the test! 🙌
Thanks for having me @MercedesAMGF1 – enjoyed that 👍 #F1 #BahrainTest 🇧🇭 pic.twitter.com/hq6koxGEqL
— George Russell (@GeorgeRussell63) April 3, 2019
The Mercedes engine is in the spotlight as Sergio Perez set the second-fastest time of the day with a lap only 0.06 seconds slower than the British driver’s. Not far behind, it’s Sebastian Vettel who completes this honorary podium with a time of 1:29.319. The German four-time world champion took this opportunity to complete 103 laps. Endurance is indeed a crucial point that Ferrari must improve if they want to avoid seeing more victories slip through their fingers like in Bahrain.
At the wheel of his Racing Point, Lance Stroll was the least productive driver of the day. The Canadian completed only 35 laps, which is 13 less than Pietro Fittipaldi, the reserve driver for Haas.
A summary of the second test day in Bahrain. 🇧🇭
Read now ➡️ https://t.co/a2ucEeBOG9 pic.twitter.com/tmWVoAS2Mn
— Haas F1 Team (@HaasF1Team) April 3, 2019
The highly publicized Mick Schumacher continued to make headlines, but this Wednesday it was in the cockpit of the Alfa Romeo. The German driver is not the only Formula 2 driver to have been behind the wheel of an F1 car. Nicholas Latifi for Williams and Jack Aitken for Renault were also present.
The other highlight to note is also the reliability of the Honda engine. Behind the wheel of the Toro Rosso, Alexander Albon was able to complete 143 laps, 8 more than Dan Ticktum with his Red Bull.
🎙@SchumacherMick:
“It has been another beautiful day at an F1 track today, and I can only repeat myself as it is just so much fun to drive these cars. I will definitely fly back with some very beautiful memories.” #F1Testing pic.twitter.com/LAzoKh4qPL— Alfa Romeo Racing (@alfaromeoracing) April 3, 2019
