FP2: Hamilton heads dominant Mercedes one-two in second practice

F1 Grand Prix, GP Bahrain, Bahrain International Circuit

Having hidden their true pace in testing, Lewis Hamilton demonstrated the one-lap performance of his brand-new Mercedes W15 by topping the representative sesond practice session at the Bahrain Grand Prix. His team-mate George Russell took second in the one-hour session. F1Technical's Balázs Szabó reports on Free Practice 2.

The afternoon practice session of the Bahrain Grand Prix saw Mercedes secure a shock one-two with Lewis Hamilton heading his team-mate George Russell in the one-hour session. The seven-time world champion clocked a 1m30.374s on his second set of fresh soft tyres to beat Russell by just over two tenths of a second.

Aston Martin's pace looked uncertain over the course of the three-day pre-season testing, but Fernando Alonso ended up third fastest in the end, beating the Ferrari of Carlos Sainz.

McLaren's performance in testing was difficult to read, but Oscar Piastri indicated what his team might be able to achieve by setting the fifth-quickest lap in Free Practice 2. His team-mate Lando Norris had a difficult qualifying simulation run, but his heaby-fuel run appeared to be much more competitive.

Max Verstappen set the sixth quickest time – nearly half a second back from Hamilton’s lap – while his team-mate Sergio Perez ended up tenth-fastest in the standings.

Reflecting on his opening day, Verstappen added: “I think it was not too bad, it’s just that I think it’s very close. "Maybe some people around us already turned up the engine a bit in terms of top speed, but we just focus on ourselves, and I think from today, there were a few little balance issues from front to rear, but nothing big."

Leclerc set the ninth-quickest lap in his Ferrari after a difficult qualifying simulation run, but the Monégasque is hopeful that he can turn it around when it comes to qualifying on Friday afternoon.