George Russell went fastest on day two of the in-season test at Bahrain – but this time in a Mercedes rather than the Williams that he normally races. The Englishman’s benchmark time was also the fastest time of the test overall.

Unlike yesterday, conditions remained dry and warm all day – although there was some cloud cover, which this time didn’t turn into rain. As a result, there was plenty of running from 09:00 to 18:00, with some teams rotating drivers in order to maximise track time, and many completing more than 100 laps.

In addition to the regular in-season test, McLaren and Toro Rosso ran a dedicated test programme for Pirelli. Fernando Alonso returned for a second day of action (with 69 laps completed), sharing the Pirelli McLaren with Carlos Sainz (who did 60 laps). Daniil Kvyat drove 111 laps to conclude his 2020 tyre testing duties for Toro Rosso in Bahrain. Between the two teams, Pirelli’s objectives for the test were reached: now it’s a question of analysing the data. The next in-season test takes place in May, after the Spanish Grand Prix.