It’s advantage Ferrari after the second day of Formula One’s pre-season test in Bahrain after Carlos Sainz set the fastest lap time on the C4 compound to be 0.7 seconds faster than Red Bull’s Sergio Perez.
Perez was meant to share duties with three-time World Champion Max Verstappen, but after the morning session was shortened, the Mexican driver got behind the wheel of the RB20 again in the afternoon.
Just under the two-and-a-half-hour mark, the red flag came out after a track inspection was needed after part of the kerb going into turn 11 came loose and repairs were needed before track action could get underway once again.
Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) was the first to potentially loosen part of the outside kerb, before Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) hit the same spot and fully dislodge it. Leclerc the follows shortly afterwards again and runs over the kerb debris causing some damage to his car.
Then at 10 am UK time, the call was made to not resume the session and instead extend the afternoon session by one hour, by bringing forward the lunch hour.
Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) and Sergio Perez (Red Bull) were first out on track in the morning session as they got their first taste in their new cars. George Russell (Mercedes) and Max Verstappen (Red Bull) took part in both the morning and afternoon sessions during Wednesday’s test.
It wouldn’t be all smooth for the Mexican driver however as he was forced into the garage for a significant amount of time with a brake problem.
After completing only 61 laps on the opening day of testing, Williams had a lot of ground to make up and with Logan Sargeant in the car all day, they did exactly that. He was setting fast lap times early in the session in comparison to everyone else and would sit at the top of the leaderboard before others ramped up their speed.
At the two-hour mark, it was the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc that was at the top of the timing screens ahead of Oscar Piastri (McLaren) and Logan Sargeant, with Sergio Perez and Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) rounding out the top five.
Haas’ pre-season muted expectations have caused a lot of concern and their focus in Thursday’s test was much of the same again as they focused on working out how to get the most out of their tyres after last season’s struggles.
The afternoon session got underway at 11 am in the UK, with Charles Leclerc eager to take to the circuit to check the car after the damage that was caused before the break.
After the dominance of Red Bull last season and from Max Verstappen yesterday as he went 1.1 seconds faster than anyone else, the unthinkable happened. The RB20 had an issue and Sergio Perez was going very slowly on his way back to the pitlane.
However, it was a quick fix and he was able to get back out as he climbed up the leaderboard when he completed laps on the softer compound tyres.
With 15 minutes remaining the virtual safety car boards were displayed as per routine before the red flags came out with 12 minutes of running remaining, before going green again at 4 pmF1 UK time, just a few minutes later.
Then we got our first taste of proper racing action in 2024, with the drivers lining up on the starting grid and the drivers then raced down to the first corner going several wide before gently making their way back to the pitlane.
Carlos Sainz, Sergio Perez and Lewis Hamilton were the fastest three on the second day of testing, with Lando Norris (McLaren) and Daniel Ricciardo (Visa Cash App RB) making up the remainder of the top five.