F1 Bahrain pre-season test - Day 2
Minute by minute updates on the second day of the 2024 F1 Bahrain pre-season test
The 2024 F1 season has arrived with pre-season testing in Bahrain.
All 10 teams have completed their launches and are trying to use as much track time as possible to prepare for the new season during the three-day pre-season test.
With Red Bull coming off a stunning 2023 season when it won all but one grand prix, can any of its rivals take the fight to the defending world champions? Signs were ominous after Max Verstappen dominated the opening day of the test.
The Bahrain pre-season test will run between 21-23 February, with each day’s track action starting at 7am GMT (10am local time).
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And there we have it, all 10 drivers in the morning session have now completed 10 laps as Perez reaches the marker. Zhou has completed the most mileage with 23 laps in the bank.
A team that we haven't mentioned much today at all is Alpine. Gasly has quietly is currently fourth and is middling on the distance run at 17 laps. Understated was how we described Alpine on Wednesday, and it's more of the same today.
But when does understated become underwhelming?
But when does understated become underwhelming?
A fresh set of C4 tyres for Sargeant as he goes for a hot lap. A personal best sector one to open with...
DRS open and a personal best sector two for Sargeant...
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And a personal best final sector also as Sargeant puts in an improved 1m32.578s. He remains third but is 0.828s back on Leclerc.
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On a fresh set of medium C3 compound tyres - which Mercedes have 25 of available for the test - Hamilton opens the taps.
A personal best sector one...
A personal best sector one...
...a personal best sector two...
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...and Hamilton rounds out the lap with another personal best sector, improving his best effort to a 1m34.222s. That leaves him seventh and well over two seconds back on Leclerc. Obviously, caveat that with the usual fuel loads and unknowns of testing.
A rather sparse track at the moment with only Piastri, Gasly and Hamilton out there, none of whom are on short runs for outright pace.
A moment there for Hamilton at Turn 7 as he locks up on entry and bounces over the harsh kerbs on the exit. A rare moment of anything other than calm from the Mercedes driver.
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Amid the long runs, Zhou puts in a new personal best lap to go fourth faster, 1.965s off Leclerc's benchmark.
Tsunoda is finally back in the car but remains in the RB garage. Only Perez is slower than the RB today so far. With only 19 laps completed, he's beginning to fall behind on mileage.
Alonso is on a push lap on fresh C3 medium tyres. Green in the first sector but after running wide on the exit of Turn 4, this lap wouldn't stand in qualifying.
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Green in sector two and slower in sector three, but a personal best 1m33.053s move Alonso up to fourth.
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Also a personal best for P9 Tsunoda, but it's still far from a hot lap at a 1m38.706s.
Pit stop
As we approach the midpoint of the session, Leclerc parks his Ferrari in the garage, climbs out and removes his helmet. A good morning so far, topping the timesheets and with 29 laps in the bank.
Perez is winding it at the moment with a personal best sector one and two.
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Perez goes green in the final sector too, putting in a 1m32.879s to go fourth. That's his first meaningful effort of the day.
At the two-hour mark, the order is:
1. Leclerc 1:31.750
2. Piastri +0.578
3. Sargeant +0.828
4. Perez +1.129
5. Alonso +1.303
6. Zhou +1.965
7. Gasly +2.054
8. Hamilton +2.472
9. Hulkenberg +5.784
10. Tsunoda +6.956
1. Leclerc 1:31.750
2. Piastri +0.578
3. Sargeant +0.828
4. Perez +1.129
5. Alonso +1.303
6. Zhou +1.965
7. Gasly +2.054
8. Hamilton +2.472
9. Hulkenberg +5.784
10. Tsunoda +6.956
You may have noticed that there is an added 10 minutes at the end of today's morning session. This is because there will be a safety car systems check at the conclusion of the session - testing isn't only for the teams, you know!
Stopwatch
Improvement incoming from Hamilton, who goes green in all three sectors to register a 1m33.225s, pushing him up to P6.
Looking at the weather, it's fractionally warmer than in the early stages and, as Tsunoda reports it's getting very windy, it's actually less gusty than earlier with a windspeed of 3.3m/s.
Haas appear to be continuing in the same way in which they were on Wednesday, focusing on making the tyres last across a longer stint. This was a major problem for the team last year, with Saturday pace failing to translate into races.
Tsunoda again complains about the wind, with RB reporting that it's "up and down". He's in for a full race simulation now.
And with that, I hand you over to Haydn Cobb who will take you through to the end of the morning session. I'll be back again tomorrow, so until then, it's goodbye from me! Haydn, it's all yours...
Thanks Sam, the lap count is ticking by nicely for all teams at the moment as we rapidly approach the halfway stage of pre-season testing. It goes by quickly compared to previous eras when testing felt endless.
After a frankly insane 143 laps by Verstappen on the opening day, Red Bull is currently bottom of the live lap count with Perez on 20 laps so far today. There appears to be no concerns though, as Perez is chatting to team boss Horner in the garage next to the car.
Red flag
There is a red flag but nobody has stopped on the track. It is the first red flag of the test as Albon's stop on track was safely sorted under yellow flags.
All the 10 drivers are back in the pitlane, and the cause of the red flag is suspected to be debris on the track, but there is no evidence of the kind just yet.
It is not track debris. There is a track inspection going on as it appears part of the kerb has come loose on the entry into Turn 11.
One man with a radio is currently stamping down on the edge of a kerb. He is joined by two colleagues, who take turns at stamping on the same part of the kerb and chatting on the radio. It appears something has come loose after Leclerc's Ferrari ran over that part of the track.
The safety car has turned up, never fear, and it looks like the outside kerb will need repairing on the entry to Turn 11 before track action can resume. The problem area is on the far edge, where the kerb meets the run-off area.
The TV replays have revealed the cause. Leclerc goes by first, potentially loosening part of the outside kerb, and then Hamilton goes over the same spot in his Mercedes and that fully dislodges it. Moments later Leclerc comes by again and runs over the kerb debris which has likely caused the car damage.
The screens have gone up in the Ferrari garage which means the floor is coming off the car, so the mechanics will inspect the potential damage to Leclerc's SF-24 and crack on with any repairs. For now, Ferrari isn't losing any time to its rivals under the red flag but if it is a lengthy repair this could be a costly loss for the Scuderia. Not to mention if they have a spare new floor if the damage is substantial.
Hamilton's Mercedes is up on the jacks in the garage and the team is inspecting the car floor but, so far, they've not put the screens up which means they don't feel they need to change it.
Currently track marshals are inspecting more kerbs around the circuit, in theory to avoid any repeat incidents, as the broken kerb is repaired.
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Our colleague Jake Boxall-Legge had just arrived at Turn 10 to watch the action trackside as the red flag was shown. Here's the live view of the track repairs ongoing.
Photo by: Jake Boxall-Legge
The Ferrari screens have been pushed back and the car is on the ground in the garage which means the floor is back on Leclerc's car. The mechanics are still working on the SF-24 but it is a positive sign.
By: Autosport Staff
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