F1 Testing: Carlos Sainz fastest from Lewis Hamilton as Lando Norris flies under the radar in Bahrain | F1 News

Williams’ Carlos Sainz was fastest from Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton in an intriguing second day of F1 pre-season testing, where Lando Norris sneakily showed McLaren’s real pace.

Sainz pipped Hamilton by 0.031s as Williams continued to impress, with Charles Leclerc getting both Ferraris in the top three in third where he was less than one tenth behind.

Hamilton’s lap time was set in the morning when conditions were slower, so the seven-time world champion is getting up to speed nicely at his new team and was visibly more comfortable in the car.

“It’s been a really good couple of days. The weather got in the way a little bit today but nevertheless we got through a lot of the programme,” Hamilton said.

“We are just focusing on exploring and, for me, getting integrated into the team as much as possible. It might seem like it’s been a long time but it’s only been a month with the team, so we have crammed in a lot in a short space of time. And the car feels good on track.”

Hamilton’s former team Mercedes had another solid day with George Russell in fourth and Kimi Antonelli in fifth. Antonelli had a scruffy afternoon as he locked up several times but avoided a major incident.

There was some rare testing contact in the morning though, with Oscar Piastri and Nico Hulkenberg touching at Turn Eight.

‘Extraordinary’ Norris shows McLaren’s true pace

Intermittent rain throughout the day caused some sketchy moments for the drivers at the Bahrain International Circuit but once it fully cleared for the last two hours, Norris shined on the long runs.

While Norris was only 14th on the Day Two leaderboard, he completed a race simulation in the afternoon which caught the attention of those watching the timing screens.

Leclerc and Mercedes’ Antonelli also conducted full race simulations and both drivers were around one second per lap slower in the final stint compared to Norris, suggesting McLaren’s long-run pace and tyre wear is stronger than their rivals.

“Norris did a 20-lap first stint, 18-lap second stint and 20-lap third stint and he’s boxed so he’s done a full race distance. He was down into the 1:32s for a lot of that final stint,” said Sky Sports F1‘s Karun Chandhok.

“Leclerc did a similar first two stints and is in the 1:33s and now the 1:34s compared to Norris in the 1:32s on a similar stint length. Antonelli is in the high 1:33s on his last stint. Norris is the outlier. It’s extraordinarily fast on his final stint.”

Red Bull gave Liam Lawson a full day in the car but he only completed 89 laps over eight hours due to a water pressure failure in the morning and the team needing to “service” the RB21 during the afternoon.

Reigning world champion Max Verstappen will be at the wheel for the whole of Friday, which will be live on Sky Sports F1 and for free on the Sky Sports app from 7am.

We are yet to see Red Bull complete a full race simulation so far but the Milton Keynes-based team will surely show their hand on the final day of testing.

“The McLaren looks driver-friendly, predictable and has all the traits you would want, so they will be happy,” added Chandhok.

“I don’t think Ferrari or Mercedes will be too disappointed but equally they will be concerned about the McLaren pace.”

Bahrain Test Timesheet – Day Two timesheet

1) Carlos Sainz, Williams, 1:29.348, 127 laps*

2) Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari, 1:29.379, 45 laps

3) Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, 1:29.431, 83 laps

4) George Russell, Mercedes, 1:29.778, 71 laps

5) Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes, 1:29.784, 87 laps

6) Lance Stroll, Aston Martin, 1:30.229, 57 laps

7) Liam Lawson, Red Bull, 1:30.252, 91 laps*

8) Jack Doohan, Alpine, 1:30.368, 80 laps

9) Pierre Gasly, Alpine, 1:30.430, 40 laps

10) Isack Hadjar, Racing Bulls, 1:30.675, 94 laps

11) Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin, 1:30.700, 45 laps

12) Yuki Tsunoda, Racing Bulls, 1:30.793, 46 laps

13) Oscar Piastri, McLaren, 1:30.821, 44 laps

14) Lando Norris, McLaren, 1:30.882, 77 laps

15) Gabriel Bortoleto, Sauber, 1:31.057, 80 laps

16) Nico Hulkenberg, Sauber, 1:31.457, 56 laps

17) Esteban Ocon, Haas, 1:33.071, 69 laps

18) Oliver Bearman, Haas, 1:34.372, 66 laps

*Denotes drivers participated in both Thursday sessions

Sky Sports F1’s live pre-season testing schedule

Thursday February 27 – Day Two

• 8pm: Testing Wrap
• 8.30pm: Ted’s Testing Notebook

Friday February 28 – Day Three

• 6.50am-11.05am: Morning Session
• 11.55am-4.05pm: Afternoon Session
• 8pm: Testing Wrap
• 8.30pm: Ted’s Testing Notebook
• 9pm: Ted’s Development Corner

When is the first F1 race?

For the first time since 2019, the season-opener will be held in Melbourne at the Australian Grand Prix on March 14-16. The first race has switched from Bahrain to Australia due to Ramadan taking place throughout March.

There are 24 events on the 2025 F1 calendar, the same number as last year, with the season ending at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on December 5-7.

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