Bahrain Winter Testing – Day 2: Sainz Ahead of the Ferraris, McLaren Conceals Its Performance
Carlos Sainz outperformed his opponents during the second day of winter testing in Bahrain. The Spaniard finished the session ahead of the two Ferraris of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc.
Fastest driver last year during winter testing at the wheel of the Ferrari, Carlos Sainz reminded everyone of his skills this afternoon on the Sakhir circuit. The Spanish driver set the best time of the second day of winter testing with a lap of 1:29.348.
The Williams driver is ahead of his replacement at Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton, who set his time during the morning session, while his teammate Charles Leclerc completes the top 3. It is interesting to note that Sainz has already beaten by several tenths the qualifying time of the best Williams from last year, driven by Alex Albon. A good sign for future events at Grove.
Read also: Bahrain Winter Testing – Day 2: Hamilton and Ferrari start the day as leaders
Behind the top 3, we find the two Mercedes of George Russell and rookie Andréa Kimi Antonelli. Lance Stroll places his Aston Martin in 6th position ahead of Liam Lawson, who didn’t cover many laps throughout the day, troubled by hydraulic issues on his Red Bull. Jack Doohan is 7th while the Frenchmen Pierre Gasly and Isack Hadjar complete the Top 10.
The McLarens are only in the 13th and 14th places, with Piastri ahead of Norris. The papaya orange team, however, tested numerous settings during the day, and at the end of the session, Norris was about to set the fastest time of the day before returning to the pits. The reigning world champions are still keeping their cards close to their chest.
The rain once again somewhat disrupted the session today, without major consequences for the entire field. Also noteworthy is the substantial half-day completed by French rookie Isack Hadjar. The Racing Bulls driver covered no less than 94 laps in one afternoon, more than Liam Lawson did in the entire day. Max Verstappen and Alex Albon did not take part in today’s session; they will return to the track this Friday morning.
See you tomorrow for the last day of winter testing at 08:00, follow live on Motors Inside.
Ranking coming soon…
