LECLERC AND NORRIS TOP SECOND AS MERCEDES FINDS TROUBLES

The second day of Formula 1 pre-season testing at the Sakhir circuit in Bahrain began after a first day marked by problems for Aston Martin and strong performance from Red Bull, teams returned to the track ready to continue their programs.

Just 10 minutes into the session, at 08:10, the first red flag of the day was shown for Sergio Pérez who encountered throttle setting issues and his car had to be towed. He got back on track eventually minutes later

When the session resumed 5 minutes later, Lando Norris and Oliver Bearman went back to work, and Liam Lawson joined them on track. Most teams were running, except Aston Martin and Red Bull.

Drivers like Lawson were seen running with a large sensor array on his car, a common sight in testing, used to collect airflow data.

Fernando Alonso finally took to the track in the Aston Martin AMR26 for his first run in Bahrain after half an hour. He completed two installation laps and returned to the garage to check systems.

Red Bull however, found an hydraulick leak which prevented them from running in the morning session.

Charles Leclerc showed strong early pace, setting a 1:34.442 after 27 laps.

Mercedes also faced problems. Kimi Antonelli managed only three laps in the morning, effectively losing the session. They had to change the engine due to this issue.

Charles Leclerc led the morning session with the fastest lap overall of these two days of testing.

At 15:00 local time, the afternoon session began with green lights again, though no cars immediately left the garage.

Oliver Bearman was the first to go out 10 minutes later. Gasly, Lindblad, and Hadjar followed shortly after.

Mercedes finally joined the action one hour later. George Russell took over the car after Antonelli missed the entire morning session.

Multiple Red Flags in the Afternoon

Ninety minutes into the session, a red flag was shown after Gabriel Bortoleto’s Audi lost a part that remained on track. Carlos Sainz narrowly avoided hitting it. The session remused 10 minutes later.

Another brief red flag stopped the running 10 minutes later. Pierre Gasly’s Alpine stopped on track just before Turn 1 due to technical problems.

As night fell and temperatures dropped, lap times began to improve. With one hour remaining, Charles Leclerc led the timesheets with a 1:34.273.

Bearman moved up to third place ahead of George Russell, while Hadjar and Sainz continued improving their times.

In the final minutes, Alonso approached 100 laps but locked his tyres at Turn 10 on one of his last fast attempts and could not improve his time.

Final practice procedures for safety car and red flag simulations began, effectively ending the session.

The second day of pre-season testing in Bahrain has come to an end. Only one day remains in this first week of running. Charles Leclerc set the fastest time, with Lando Norris half a second behind.

Day 2 results

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