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Formula 1 Bahrain March Testing

F1 Bahrain pre-season test - Day 2

Minute by minute updates on the second day of the 2022 Bahrain F1 pre-season test

Carlos Sainz Jr., Ferrari F1-75

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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Latifi's been wheeled back to the garage. Such is his experience in Formula 2, he'll be used to fires - he had to contend with a steamed DAMS on multiple occasions.
No news just yet on when the session will resume, but we hope the answer to that will be "soon".

So here's the current order as things stand, as we approach the halfway point of this morning:

  1. Ocon, Alpine, 1m34.276s, C4, 24 laps
  2. Leclerc, Ferrari, 1m34.366s, C3, 17
  3. Verstappen, Red Bull, 1m35.874s, C2, 26
  4. Bottas, Alfa Romeo, 1m36.987s, C2, 18
  5. Tsunoda, AlphaTauri, 1m37.893s, C3, 15
  6. Norris, McLaren, 1m38.543s, C2, 6
  7. Russell, Mercedes, 1m38.585s, C2 proto, 20
  8. Vettel, Aston Martin, 1m38.948s, C3, 35
  9. Schumacher, Haas, 1m39.258s, C2, 10
  10. Latifi, Williams, 1m39.845s, C2 proto, 12
The flatbed truck has finally arrived to extricate the Williams from the run-off. Hopefully we'll be up and running in short order!
Williams is preparing the screens, ready to enact some repairs on the FW44. A Williams technician has arrived on the scene with a big hook, perhaps hoping to catch a big fish for lunch.
That's a set of prototype tyres on that Williams that Pirelli probably won't want back. You can see them making notes now: "not...resistant...to...fire".
Mechanical problem
Latifi and a marshal rush onto the scene with fire extinguishers - but it seems the flames burst a tyre. The Canadian takes a look at the rear end to see if everything's been put out properly.
Red flag
There's a red flag, Latifi's rear brakes are VERY on fire at the moment.
We're regaled by a few lock-ups from Verstappen and Leclerc, both snatching tyres at Turns 10 and 11 respectively. It's difficult to get the rotation back with these stiffer tyres, so the lock-ups seem like they last for ever.
Thank you Haydn, enjoy your coffee! I'm not *all* puns and Simpsons memes, but with that in mind...

 

That talk of coffee has piqued my interest so I'm off to find a mug of the fine black stuff. I'll hand over to Jake Boxall-Legge to talk you through the next part of testing, no doubt laced with puns and Simpsons memes.

Ocon, still on the C4 tyres, puts in a 1m35.709s which doesn't threaten his own overall best as the tyre life begins to dip on a very hot track.

That secret event between the drivers must be over now with six of them back on track. Maybe it was just a quick coffee break to discuss their mornings and see who fancies a round of golf on Sunday.
Sorry, meant to say Vettel is on the C2s - numbers aren't my strong point. Anyway, Verstappen is also on track again and he is also on C2s, promise.
Vettel has joined Ocon on track running on a set of C2s.
Stopwatch
Ocon duly goes top on the fresh rubber but only just, with a 1m34.276s putting him 0.090s quicker than Leclerc's earlier effort. But it was a second faster than his earlier effort on the C3 tyres.
Thank you, Ocon. The Alpine driver breaks the track silence and comes out on a set of brand new C4 soft tyres. Tasty.
Is there a secret event in the paddock that we're not invited to? All drivers have suddenly pitted to leave the track empty.

Williams is the only team yet to set an outright lap time, with the mechanics carrying out a floor change in front of the TV cameras. Doubt the technical bosses will be happy with it on show but it is great for the rest of us.

That first hour has flown by, with Leclerc popping up to the top the times with a 1m34.366s for Ferrari. Aston Martin lead the lap tally count on 22 with Vettel.

As if you needed another reminder, but the new series of Drive to Survive has just got live on Netflix. In need of a snapshot of the new series? Look no further: 

https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/drive-to-survive-s4-review-essential-viewing-but-absences-are-felt/8780671/

A peek into the McLaren garage shows technical director James Key inspecting the front brakes with the team mechanics. The brakes were causing McLaren a headache yesterday but the team appears to have made a solid start this morning.
Schumacher puts in his first timed lap of the day, a mid-1m39s, to go P7 overall. His good work is somewhat undone by a massive lock-up of his front-left braking for Turn 1 after finishing that lap.
Stopwatch
Verstappen, on the C2s, goes second quickest with a 1m36.914s for Red Bull. That puts him half a second off Ocon's overall top time.
Verstappen catches his Red Bull from spinning around on him, as he asks for the power a bit too keenly coming out of Turn 2 and the rear steps out on him.
Leclerc the next victim of a Turn 10 lock-up but he's not the first nor will he be the last. The Ferrari driver is all OK to continue.
Stopwatch
More cars means more lap times, of course, with Tsunoda up to P2 overall with a 1m37.893s for AlphaTauri, shaking off that lock-up from earlier.

All 10 teams are now on track as Schumacher nips out for the first time this morning for Haas. Busy, busy!

Tsunoda becomes the latest locker-upper at Turn 10 which rather ruins his run as he goes off track and backs off.
The French driver doesn't improve overall, going three-tenths slower than his best, losing time in the final two sectors.
Ocon is crawling around on this cool down lap, to the point the timing screen thinks he's stopped due to his very slow mini sector times. He hasn't, we can assure the technology, as he sets off for another fast lap.
Ocon misses out on improving on his overall best by a tenth, with Alpine definitely going for performance running with push and cool off laps. The French driver's top time is already quicker than anything the team produced yesterday.
Stopwatch
Leclerc, who was battling a slippery Ferrari a few moments ago with a lock-up at Turn 10 and a slide at Turn 11, puts a lap together to set a 1m37.972s to go second overall.
Stopwatch
Ocon in the Alpine goes fastest with a 1m36.472s. That driver and that livery makes it very difficult not to instantly call it Racing Point. Apologies in advance if that slips out.
Cars everywhere you look! Vettel, Verstappen, Leclerc and Ocon join Russell on track.
Photo

New livery alert! The Alpine is pretty in pink, as Ocon shows off the race livery the team will use for the first two F1 races of the season before returning to its blue and pink number.

 

Photo by: Motorsport Images

Russell taking the opportunity of an empty track to continue his aero data collecting run. Everyone else is staying put in the garages.

By: autosport.com

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