The second Free Practice session for the Bahrain Grand Prix took place at night, under conditions that will reflect those of tomorrow’s qualifying and Saturday’s race.
In contrast to this morning, the drivers immediately went out on soft tires, at least some of them did, including those from the leading teams such as Red Bull, Ferrari, and Mercedes F1.
Sergio Pérez and then Charles Leclerc took turns leading the standings, before Lewis Hamilton took a nearly eight-tenths lead with a time of 1’30″751. Fernando Alonso then slotted in at 0″284 behind the British driver.
George Russell recorded his first time one second off his teammate, in seventh place. Pérez improved to take the provisional third spot, while Lando Norris complained of significantly more understeer than during FP1 on his McLaren.
Leclerc improved and took third place despite a small error in the last corner. Max Verstappen completed his first fast lap of FP2 and placed fourth, half a second behind.
Verstappen later improved to third place. Carlos Sainz was just 0″018 behind Hamilton after improving, while Oscar Piastri, on soft tires, was just 0″033 off the best time. Nico Hülkenberg also recorded a strong time.
Daniel Ricciardo finished his first lap on soft tires, but it was only good enough for 13th. Yuki Tsunoda was 15th, and Norris still didn’t seem comfortable in the MCL38, requesting a steering wheel change among other things.
Leclerc made a small error at turn 4, with a slight lock-up. Hamilton once again set the pace with 1’30″374, while Pérez was again attacking the clock, finishing sixth seven-tenths behind.
Russell managed to climb to second place, with Alonso in third. In the top 10, Lance Stroll and Nico Hülkenberg made their presence felt. The session’s end was mainly dedicated to long-run tests.
Hamilton kept the fastest time, with Mercedes taking the top two spots ahead of Alonso, Sainz, and Piastri. Verstappen was sixth, followed by Hülkenberg, Stroll, Leclerc, and Pérez.
Outside the top 10 were Alex Albon, ahead of Ricciardo and Logan Sargeant, then Kevin Magnussen and Yuki Tsunoda. The Alpines and Stakes followed, with Norris unable to set a fast lap on soft tires.
Bahrain FP2 F1 2024 – Free Practice Results (2)
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Time | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes W15 | 1:30.374 | 23 |
| 02 | George Russell | Mercedes W15 | 1:30.580 | 21 |
| 03 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin Mercedes AMR24 | 1:30.660 | 20 |
| 04 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari SF-24 | 1:30.769 | 23 |
| 05 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren Mercedes MCL38 | 1:30.784 | 25 |
| 06 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Honda RBPT RB20 | 1:30.851 | 23 |
| 07 | Nico Hülkenberg | Haas Ferrari VF-24 | 1:30.884 | 22 |
| 08 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin Mercedes AMR24 | 1:30.891 | 25 |
| 09 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari SF-24 | 1:31.113 | 25 |
| 10 | Sergio Pérez | Red Bull Honda RBPT RB20 | 1:31.115 | 25 |
| 11 | Alex Albon | Williams Mercedes FW46 | 1:31.333 | 25 |
| 12 | Daniel Ricciardo | RB Honda RBPT VCARB 01 | 1:31.516 | 25 |
| 13 | Logan Sargeant | Williams Mercedes FW46 | 1:31.715 | 25 |
| 14 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas Ferrari VF-24 | 1:31.764 | 26 |
| 15 | Yuki Tsunoda | RB Honda RBPT VCARB 01 | 1:31.881 | 28 |
| 16 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine Renault A524 | 1:31.951 | 23 |
| 17 | Valtteri Bottas | Stake F1 Kick Sauber C44 | 1:32.001 | 23 |
| 18 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine Renault A524 | 1:32.027 | 24 |
| 19 | Guanyu Zhou | Stake F1 Kick Sauber C44 | 1:32.048 | 26 |
| 20 | Lando Norris | McLaren Mercedes MCL38 | 1:32.608 | 24 |
Bahrain FP2 f1 2024 Hamilton Dominates. Bahrain FP2 f1 2024 Hamilton Dominates
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