Hamilton leads Mercedes 1-2 in second Bahrain GP practice

Mercedes teammates Lewis Hamilton and George Russell unexpectedly topped an intriguing second practice session for the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Max Verstappen, tipped as favorite to sweep the weekend after preseason testing, was almost half a second off the pace in sixth, with teammate Sergio Perez stuck down in 10th.

Hamilton lowered the benchmark to 1m30.374s on a set of softs in a session dominated by running on the softest compound. The Briton was 0.206s quicker than compatriot and Mercedes teammate Russell.

The W15 seemed untroubled by the plunging weather after sunset. The ambient temperature sunk to 62 degrees F and the track hovered at around 71 degrees F owing in part to the grand prix’s earlier than usual start in the year.

Fernando Alonso slotted into third for Aston Martin at 0.286s off the pace, while Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz and McLaren’s Oscar Piastri made it four different teams inside the top five.

Piastri was one of only seven drivers to sample the medium tire through the session, completing a late six-lap run at the end of an hour. No team has yet used a set of hard tires, which are set to form the backbone of the grand prix on Saturday.

Verstappen’s absence from the top five was notable for his 0.477s gap to the front. The Dutchman made no major mistakes on either of his push laps on softs but regardless struggled to match Mercedes for pace.

His transition to race simulation on the same tire, however, appeared much more competitive, suggesting the Red Bull Racing car still has more pace in hand.

Nico Hulkenberg set the Haas team’s first competitive lap of the weekend after an FP1 focused on tire management, the German setting the seventh quickest time only 0.033s behind Verstappen. He pipped Lance Stroll, Charles Leclerc and Sergio Perez, who completed the top 10 spread over just 0.741s and split between six teams.

Alex Albon was almost a second off the pace for Williams in 11th ahead of the FP1-topping Daniel Ricciardo in 12th for RB and Logan Sargeant in the sister car.

Kevin Magnussen led Yuki Tsunoda in 14th and 15th ahead of Pierre Gasly, the highest-placed Alpine driver on what looks set to be a tough weekend for the French team in its all-new car.

Valtteri Bottas’s session started badly when he appeared to nose over the pit exit line in preparation for a practice start before pit lane was open, earning him a summoning to the stewards.

Esteban Ocon and Zhou Guanyu followed in 18th and 19th, while Lando Norris sat at the foot of the table after failing to string together a competitive lap during the performance runs at the beginning of the hour.