F1 Bahrain pre-season test - Day 2
Minute by minute updates on the second day of the 2022 Bahrain F1 pre-season test
Track action gets underway at 7am GMT and finishes at 4pm GMT. The day will be split by a one-hour lunch break (11am-12pm GMT) which can be reduced if requested due to lost track time from either red flags or poor weather conditions.
After missing the morning session on the first day due to the late arrival of freight, Haas has been granted time to catch up on the missed four hours of track running. The US team will continue for an extra hour after the chequered flag falls this evening and will be permitted to continue to run through the final day lunch break plus have two hours of further running tomorrow evening.
On the eve of the Bahrain test, Haas announced Kevin Magnussen would make a return to F1 to replace Nikita Mazepin following the termination of his contract, while the team also cut ties to title sponsor Uralkali due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Magnussen will get his first track time in the Haas VF-22 this afternoon, with new team-mate Mick Schumacher on driving duties this morning before handing over to the Dane.
Daniel Ricciardo will miss the second day of the Bahrain F1 test due to illness, with Lando Norris standing in for McLaren.
The Bahrain pre-season test will take place on 10-12 March ahead of the 2022 F1 season opener at the same venue, the Bahrain Grand Prix, on 18-20 March.
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Red flag
Another red flag! This time for Norris who has stopped in the McLaren on the track at pitlane exit.
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Stopwatch
I can only apologise, but I did warn earlier about the puns. Anyway, the non-punned Magnussen has moved up to ninth overall with a 1m36.505s on the C3s.
One final bit of cutting insight from JBL which he needed to share: Haas is considering its own ice cream setup in deference to its returning driver. We wait to see if the Kevin Magnum-sen becomes a reality.
Lights green
Here we go again, Zhou heads straight out on the track
Testing will resume at 17:40 local time - so in three minutes.
The Alpine mechanics still in the garage seem equally relaxed as the ice creams are handed out ahead of the car being returned to the garage. They've even got pink flavours to match their car livery which is a nice touch.
Thanks very much JBL, a nice easy start to my stint due to the red flag which seems to have been a theme today.
Haydn Cobb will now assume the reins for our Live commentary to bring it home - over to you, sir!
Alpine's mechanics are now on the scene, preparing to stuff the car into a body bag and take it to the mortuary. Or garage, as it's officially known in F1 circles.
Ocon stands by his stranded Alpine, waiting for the recovery team to turn up. A Ford Mustang has also stopped nearby to collect him, giving him a taste of muscle car goodness.
Just as Ocon had matched Tsunoda on 103 laps, the French driver brings his A522 machinery to a stop off-line at the start of the final sector, as he started to break into a crawl on the infield straight.
Red flag
That's a red flag - Ocon's stopped on-track at Turn 13!
Magnussen now moves up to P11, setting a 1m37.838s on the C2 - jumping above team-mate Schumacher as Haas gets closer to the 50-lap mark for the day.
Verstappen goes back out, as Hamilton and Norris also leave the pits for more mileage. Ocon and Stroll are also out on the circuit - with the French driver about to join Tsunoda in the Century Club.
Off track
Verstappen is once again wide at Turn 4, and leaves him having to snatch at the steering wheel after kicking up a healthy dose of dust off-line. Stroll hence closes in on him and gets by, as the Red Bull driver retreats to the pits.
The circuit looks very dusty too, it's quite windy out there. The lights come on to offer some salvation against the limited visibility, as the sun sets over Bahrain.
Hamilton was on a bit of a push lap, but a few wide moments on the C4 tyre means he's not able to better his time and remains P5. Meanwhile, Ocon once again explores the limits of Turn 11 as he dials in the hardest tyre available.
Sainz continues to run on the C4 tyres, but the track conditions have changed a bit and leave him with noticeable understeer. Ocon, meanwhile, seems to be on a set of lesser-spotted C1 tyres.
Ocon has an off at Turn 11, kicking up a lot of dust on the run-off. He ploughs on regardless, sitting on 87 laps as it stands.
It looks quite muggy out there as we tick down into the final two hours of the session. Sainz, Ocon, Verstappen and Magnussen all out there, logging laps and taking names.
Stopwatch
Sainz, on C4 tyres, logs a 1m33.532s to extend his advantage at the top - setting the best sectors two and three of the day with a bit of assistance from Hamilton on the main straight.
Magnussen continues to explore the limits of the Haas, getting pretty wide on the exit of Turn 13 and taking to the run-off. He's set a 1m37.983s on his next lap, getting within a tenth of team-mate Schumacher.
We were given a little sniff of a battle between Verstappen and Hamilton, the former revisiting his controversial exit line at Turn 4 by running well off the track. The Dutchman looks to be either heavy on fuel, or he just had a big lunch.
Tsunoda is the first member of today's 100 club, which his AlphaTauri team-mate Pierre Gasly was in yesterday. Ocon is next closest on 84 laps, while Mercedes' cumulative lap count isn't too far off with 83.
Hamilton logs a 1m35.516s to go P5 in the times, taking a healthy dose of the exit kerb at Turn 13 on the C3 tyres.
Stroll continues his steady ascent up the timing charts, punching in a 1m34.064s on the C4 tyres - just over a tenth off of Sainz's best. A personal best for Stroll in the final sector, as he goes P2.
Stopwatch
Sainz goes fastest, with a 1m33.943s on those C3 tyres to knock Ocon off his perch.
So, no more running for Williams today as it focuses on repairing the fire damage from this morning. In the meantime, Magnussen now gets into double figures on the laps chart, as Tsunoda looks primed to be the first to 100 - he's on 90 laps so far.
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A good lap from Stroll on the mediums, setting a 1m34.964s on the C3 tyre to get up to third overall. He leapfrogs Sainz, who'd moved up to fourth earlier on.
Magnussen again wrestling with the car into Turn 1, trying a bite of right-hand steering, taking some opposite lock, and then throwing the car into the corner on the second try. Certainly style points on show.
You can hear Hamilton really getting off the throttle as his Mercedes W13 begins to oscillate on the straights, bouncing along as if he's on the world's most expensive space hopper.
Kevin Magnussen's on track, and immediately posts a 1m38.877s - getting very wiggly at Turn 10. Good to see the Dane back in the F1 ring, after a year out doing IMSA duties, Le Mans and an IndyCar one-off.
Photo
Zhou's not the first Chinese native to drive an F1 car, however - Ma Qinghua has him beat on that front having done FP1 sessions for HRT and Caterham. Was this all a ruse to post a picture of an HRT F1 car? YES.
F1's first Chinese race driver winds that down into the 1m41s on the next tour, but he'll find more time out of his Alfa Romeo. Meanwhile, Sainz is on afternoon duties for Ferrari, currently P10 - but he seems to be on a faster lap.
We've currently got Guanyu Zhou on-track, who goes P14 on the C2 tyre with a 1m42.020s - his first lap of the day.
Thanks to Megan and Newbold - Haydn and I are back! I'll hand over to our esteemed website editor halfway through these final three hours of day two, so you're stuck with me for a bit!
That's my stint on the live blog done, so I'll hand you over to Autosport's Technical Editor Jake Boxall-Legge for the rest of this afternoon's action - enjoy!
Also lots of work going on down at Ferrari at the rear of Carlos Sainz's F1-75
By: autosport.com
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