McLarens Dominate Bahrain FP2: Piastri Sets the Pace Ahead of Norris and Russell
Oscar Piastri leads a commanding McLaren one-two in the second free practice session under the lights in Bahrain, with George Russell taking third for Mercedes.
McLaren showcased dominant pace in the second free practice session of the Bahrain Grand Prix weekend, with Oscar Piastri topping the timesheets, followed closely by teammate Lando Norris. Mercedes’ George Russell secured third place, though his lap time was half a second adrift of Piastri’s benchmark.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc claimed fourth, just ahead of young Andrea Kimi Antonelli in fifth. Isack Hadjar impressed in sixth, running on medium tyres, and notably finished ahead of World Champion Max Verstappen, who could only manage seventh. Lewis Hamilton followed in eighth, with Oliver Bearman and Carlos Sainz rounding out the top ten.
The opening practice session was held in scorching daytime temperatures on a still-dusty circuit, making it relatively unrepresentative. As is customary in Bahrain, the more crucial session for race prep took place later in the evening under floodlights. Returning to their cars after giving FP1 over to young drivers were Leclerc, Verstappen, Sainz, Alonso, Russell, and Bearman.
Charles Leclerc was the first to hit the track but immediately locked up into Turn 10. Verstappen followed with his own off-line moment at the same corner. Fernando Alonso encountered more serious issues—first reporting problems with his steering wheel, which then appeared to detach while the car was moving. The Spaniard returned to the pits immediately for safety reasons.
In the early phase of the session, most teams ran on medium tyres before switching to softs for qualifying simulations. McLaren surged ahead, with both cars looking planted and fast. Mercedes wasn’t far off, while Ferrari appeared twitchy and difficult to handle—particularly Hamilton’s car, which struggled throughout the session.
Interestingly, Ferrari used an additional set of soft tyres, giving Leclerc an edge over Antonelli late in the session.
The final minutes saw all teams transition into long-run simulations, focusing on race pace, which left the final standings unchanged.
Final practice (FP3) is scheduled for tomorrow.
