F1 | Bahrain Testing | Bottas on top at the end of the second day of testing
Mercedes closes the second day of testing topping the timesheet with Bottas.
( palabras)
Charles Leclerc is the first to go out on track, as the afternoon session of the second day of Testing gets underway in a windy Sakhir.
The Monegasque is followed by Gasly, Stroll and Mick Schumacher, who has his first chance to complete some laps after missing much of his session due to a hydraulics issue.
Stroll is also making up for lost time, as Aston spent most of the morning session on the sidelines trying to fix the gearbox issue on Sebastian Vettel’s car.
In the very last few minutes of the first hour, the last one to join is Bottas, after Mercedes took some time for screens in the garage this afternoon. Hard tyres aren’t a problem as it’s 33 degrees, but he goes off track missing the braking zone at turn 11 on his first flying lap.
Stroll is also making up for lost time, as Aston spent most of the morning session on the sidelines trying to fix the gearbox issue on Sebastian Vettel’s car.
In the very last few minutes of the first hour, the last one to join is Bottas, after Mercedes took some time for screens in the garage this afternoon. Hard tyres aren’t a problem as it’s 33 degrees, but he goes off track missing the braking zone at turn 11 on his first flying lap.
Wind is fading down as the second-hour approaches and Antonio Giovinazzi (C3) goes 4th fastest, right behind Sergio Perez and within 0,3 s of Ricciardo’s morning pace. This is the last day of testing for the Alfa driver, as tomorrow it will be Kimi’s day. Another half-hour in Bottas (C2) joins the timesheet with a 1:33.581s, while it takes another fifteen minutes for McLaren to set a time. NO particular problems for them as Norris puts a 1:34.670s.
Entering the third hour of testing, it’s 5pm local time, the sun is setting and temperatures are starting to cool down in the desert. It kicks off with Lando Norris on a fresh set of softs topping the timesheet with a 1:31.239s, three tenths faster than Giovinazzi in second place. Meanwhile Pierre Gasly’s Alpha Tauri made it to the 4th place.
Down the main straight, Perez is slipstreaming Latifi and as his Red Bull is going through the turbulent air pulling out from behind the Canadian’s Williams the engine cover of the RB16B comes off. The session is red-flagged as the track is being cleared of debris.
🚩 RED FLAG 🚩
Sergio Perez loses bodywork down the main straight #F1 #F1Testing pic.twitter.com/aVVPUVWr52
When the session resumes, there are another 75 minutes to go.
Giovinazzi jumps to the top, but Gasly tops him and goes first fastest, while Bottas sprints up to the 4th position.
In the last hour Norris flies back to the top with a 1:30.413, Leclerc goes 5th with a 1.4s gap from Gasly.
After a close round of fast-paced laps, the session comes to an end with Bottas setting the fastest time of the preseason testing, a 1:30.289, followed by Gasly, Stroll’s Aston Martin, Norris and Giovinazzi. Out of the top five are Leclerc, Latifi, Perez, Ricciardo and Alonso. Closing the list, Tsunoda, Schumacher, Sainz, Mazepin, Hamilton and Vettel.
