Bahrain Grand Prix – Free Practice 2: Lewis Hamilton dominates the session from start to finish

As Daniel Ricciardo dominated the first free practice session of the season, and the Alpine were struggling, it is now time for the Free Practice 2 this afternoon at the Sakhir circuit. This session is already more important than the first one of the day because it is much more representative of the qualifying conditions tomorrow and the race on Saturday, which take place at about the same times as this Thursday. These track conditions will thus offer each team their only chance to try out the tires and refine the settings adapted to cooler temperatures.

Usually, during FP2, teams perform longer runs to prepare for the race. However, given the current conditions, it is likely that qualifying simulations will also be part of the program.

Guanyu Zhou’s single-seater is the first to take to the track, followed by Nico Hülkenberg’s Haas. As for the tires, we have a nice mix on the grid: McLaren are on the medium compound, Haas on the soft compound, as well as the two Alpines and Sergio Perez. The fastest time of the session, set by Hülkenberg, stands at 1:32.139. Everyone is out on track, except Max Verstappen and George Russell, who remain in the garage.

Lewis Hamilton sets the tone in Bahrain.

Lewis Hamilton, on soft tires, sets the fastest laps, at 1:30.751, more than 0.8 seconds ahead of the rest. Fernando Alonso takes the second fastest time in these early minutes, followed by Charles Leclerc. Meanwhile, there are complaints about bounces at McLaren, more pronounced than in the first free practice session. This is not about aerodynamics, but mechanical type rebounds. George Russell is also suffering from them.

On its side, barely the session started, the race control noted an infraction from Valtteri Bottas in the pit lane. The Finn stopped rather abruptly at the end of the pit lane before the lights turned green.

10 minutes after the start of the session, the reigning world champion leaves the pit lane… and is only in 4th place, over half a second behind Hamilton, before moving up to 3rd, after Alonso. It is worth noting that George Russell’s lap time is over a second slower than his teammate’s. The British driver lost time on a kerb.

During the qualifying session, it will be important to keep an eye on the track limits, for example, turn 4 is giving Alex Albon a hard time. The leaderboard remains the same in terms of lap times for the first 20 minutes, until Hülkenberg grabs the second fastest time. Oscar Piastri also improves his lap time and takes third place. Then it’s Sainz’s turn, who falls just 0.018 seconds behind Hamilton. It’s getting closer. But the seven-time world champion also improves his time and therefore maintains his first place.

The best first and second personal sectors move Verstappen from seventh to fourth place – but he is struggling in the final sector. He still has half a second behind Hamilton. Russell finishes his second lap on the soft tires, but he can only place himself in second position, with a two-tenths gap behind his teammate. Currently, this session is reminiscent of the 2020 season, with Hamilton dominating the field.

Alpine strawberry in FP2

As announced, the Alpine team is struggling: Ocon sets the 17th time halfway through the session, and Gasly the 19th. The French team is suffering from major issues in the design of its car, starting with excessive weight handicaps. Both cars are expected to land in 10th position among the teams for the qualifying session, according to a survey in the paddock. We’ll find out this Friday…

An ex-Alpine driver, Fernando Alonso, can be satisfied with his choice for Aston Martin: with 20 minutes to go, he completes his second qualifying run and moves up to third place. He is trailing behind Hamilton by 0.286s, with no one seemingly able to get within two tenths of the Mercedes driver, who is setting a pace of 1:30.374. With 10 minutes left, his teammate is following him by 0.206 seconds, with Alonso himself just 0.286 seconds behind. Verstappen is unable to do better than the sixth time. This will be it for Free Practice 2 session, scandalously dominated by Lewis Hamilton, it cannot be emphasized enough…

The ranking table of Free Practice 2 in Bahrain