LIVE: F1 Bahrain 2021 pre-season testing - Day 2 | Live text

By: Jake Boxall-Legge, Tom Howard, James Newbold, Stephen Lickorish

Summary

Close at the top on day two of Bahrain F1 testing with Bottas's Mercedes, Gasly's AlphaTauri and Stroll's Aston Martin separated by two tenths on soft tyres
Brief red flag as engine cover was ripped from Perez's RB16B after pulling out to pass Latifi's Williams, with no contact occurring between them
Ricciardo tops the morning timesheets for McLaren, just ahead of Alonso (Alpine) and Perez
Vettel suffers a gearbox issue on his Aston Martin and only manages a handful of laps in the morning
Hamilton brings out red flag in the morning, spinning off at Turn 13 and getting stuck in gravel

Leaderboard - Day 2

1. Bottas, Mercedes, 1m30.289s
2. Gasly, AlphaTauri, 1m30.413s
3. Stroll, Aston Martin, 1m30.460s
4. Norris, McLaren, 1m30.586s
5. Giovinazzi, Alfa Romeo, 1m30.760s
6. Leclerc, Ferrari, 1m30.886s
7. Latifi, Williams, 1m31.672s
8. Perez, Red Bull, 1m31.682s
9. Ricciardo, McLaren, 1m32.215s
10. Alonso, Alpine, 1m32.339s
11. Tsunoda, AlphaTauri, 1m32.684s
12. Schumacher, Haas, 1m32.883s
13. Sainz, Ferrari, 1m33.072s
14. Mazepin, Haas, 1m33.101s
15. Hamilton, Mercedes, 1m33.399s
16. Vettel, Aston Martin, 1m38.849s

Status: Stopped

18:16 And that's all from us today! We'll see you bright and early tomorrow for the final day of testing - bye for now.

18:15 Here's the day 2 report from Bahrain: https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/bottas-returns-mercedes-to-the-top-on-second-day-of-bahrain-f1-test/5713331/

18:09

18:04

17:58 Bottas on top, then - beating Gasly by 0.124s. Stroll third with a 1m30.460s, beating Norris by a tenth.

17:57 We will have some time allotted for practice starts - but that's it for the session. Testing is two-thirds complete here at Bahrain.

17:55 Oh, hello red flag.

17:55 Pitstop gaffes aside, 162 laps for Haas today - not a bad innings.

17:54 Eep - the green light went on in the Haas pitbox, but the jackman wasn't quite out of the way! Schumacher almost took the jack with him...

17:53 Latifi did his P7 laptime on the C4s, Leclerc 0.8s quicker on the C5s.

17:50 Somebody once told me the world is gonna roll me...

17:48 Leclerc also goes a smidgen faster, posting a 1m30.886s on one of the two softer compounds.

17:47 Latifi gets up to P7 on that lap, logging his 130th tour of the Bahrain circuit with a 1m31.672s time.

17:44 We've got 16 minutes remaining.

17:43 Alonso does a pitstop, collecting a used set of C2 tyres and heading off on his way. Perez does the same thing moments later. They emerge in P...sorry, this isn't a race is it?

17:40 Bottas goes fastest with a 1m30.289s on C5 tyres. gg guys, gl next year.

17:39 Perez doing a neat pitstop there, taking on new C2 tyres to carry on his running on the harder compounds. Proper race simulations now.

17:38 Leclerc went fastest in sector 1, but remains sixth overall with a 1m30.903s on his C4 tyres.

17:37 Stroll's gone up to fourth, logging a 1m30.693s on his 64th lap of the day.

17:36 Gasly on the C3 tyres returns to the circuit, adding to his 75 laps so far.

17:33 Best final sector for Bottas too, but definitely keeping a lid on things as he explores the limitations of the Mercedes.

17:32 It's a 1m30.460s, half a tenth down on Gasly in P1.

17:31 Bottas is blowing hot and cold at the moment, running on a C5. A few purple bits on the timing screen, bits of green, but mainly grey to signify no improvement...

17:29 Gasly switches helmets, going for a slightly more orange visor to help reduce some of the glare from the lights.

17:27 There's Leclerc with a lap that takes him up to P4, clocking in a 1m31.135s on C4 tyres.

17:24 With just under 40 minutes to go in day two of testing, here's how many laps each team has managed.

1. Haas 144
2. AlphaTauri 129
3. Williams 124
4. Ferrari 118
5. Alfa Romeo 116
6. Alpine 115
7. Mercedes 105
8. Red Bull 101
9. McLaren 85
10. Aston Martin 69

17:23 105 laps for Mercedes so far today - a much better run compared to yesterday's dismal 48.

17:22 Bottas personal-bests with a 1m31.172s - so he's chipping away at things. Still on those C4s, just seeing how far they go.

17:21 That Aston Martin does look very good under the lights, it must be said. It just looks right.

17:20 Stroll encounters traffic on his run with C3 tyres, getting baulked by Alonso and Schumacher down at Turn 9. A little hand gesture from Lance, there, in response...

17:18 Perez is due to start his 100th lap soon too, assuming he continues on his hard-tyre run.

17:15 Perez, whose Red Bull suddenly became naked on the straight, is back on track and on the C2 tyre. He's got the clothes and boots, all he wants is your motorcycle...

17:13 Gasly returns to the top! It's a 1m30.413s, on new C5s, to put a shade over Norris.

17:12 Ferrari's Chuck Lecluck, on C4s, does a 1m31.897s to go fifth overall.

17:11 Bottas' time is a 1m31.633s on those C4 tyres, which isn't earth-shattering. Keeping their powder dry?

17:09 Giovinazzi's gone a little quicker with a 1m30.760s on C5s - but doesn't quite take enough of a bite out of Norris' advantage.

17:07 Bottas has now re-emerged from the pits on a set of soft tyres. What's he got up his sleeve?

17:06 That time from Norris is the fastest of pre-season testing so far. For reference, it compares to the pole lap of 1m27.264s for last year's race.

17:05 As the track gets cooler into the night, the teams are finding it more representative of actual GP weekend conditions. So, they're pushing the boat out a bit...

LIVE: F1 Bahrain 2021 pre-season testing - Day 2

Live text commentary on the second day of 2021 Formula 1 pre-season testing at the Bahrain International Circuit.

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