Bahrain Testing Day 2: Magnussen sets the fastest time of the day during the extended session
Big surprise at the end of the day. Allowed to drive for an extra hour after the end of the tests, Kevin Magnussen achieved the best time of the day, with a comfortable lead over Sainz's Ferrari!
Allowed to drive an hour longer after the end of the tests to make up for the delay in the arrival of their cars in Bahrain, Haas has just made a big impact. The returning driver Kevin Magnussen, who took to the track for the first time this afternoon, set the fastest time of the day.
With a time of 1:33.207, the Dane outpaces Carlos Sainz by three tenths (1:33.532). On the same tires (C4) as the Ferrari, the VF-22 makes a nice move, albeit difficult to analyze. The quantity of fuel in the cars and various other technical factors make it difficult to interpret the results of the testing days, and they may not necessarily be indicative of the cars’ maximum potential.
This time, nearly a second ahead of Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes running on C5 tires, should encourage the American team, which has faced numerous problems in recent weeks.
Between the loss of its sponsor Uralkali, the dismissal of Nikita Mazepin, or a 2021 season spent at the bottom of the rankings, every piece of good news will uplift the spirits of everyone at Haas.
Final results of Day 2 in Bahrain:
| N° | Driver | Team | Times | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Magnussen | Haas F1 Team | 1:33.207 | 60 | |
| 2 | Sainz Jr. | Scuderia Ferrari | 1:33.532 | +0.325 | 60 |
| 3 | Verstappen | Red Bull Racing | 1:34.011 | +0.804 | 86 |
| 3 | Stroll | Cognizant Aston Martin Racing | 1:34.064 | +0.857 | 70 |
| 5 | Hamilton | Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport | 1:34.141 | +0.934 | 47 |
| 6 | Ocon | Alpine F1 Team | 1:34.276 | +1.069 | 111 |
| 7 | Leclerc | Scuderia Ferrari | 1:34.366 | +1.159 | 54 |
| 8 | Norris | McLaren F1 Team | 1:34.609 | +1.402 | 60 |
| 9 | Vettel | Cognizant Aston Martin Racing | 1:36.020 | +2.813 | 46 |
| 10 | Tsunoda | Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda | 1:36.802 | +3.595 | 120 |
| 11 | Bottas | Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN | 1:36.987 | +3.780 | 25 |
| 12 | Schumacher | Haas F1 Team | 1:37.846 | +4.639 | 23 |
| 13 | Russell | Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport | 1:38.585 | +5.378 | 67 |
| 14 | Latifi | Williams Racing | 1:39.845 | +6.638 | 12 |
| 15 | Zhou | Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN | 1:39.984 | +6.777 | 48 |
