Bahrain Grand Prix – Free Practice 2: Hamilton Unstoppable on the Sakhir Circuit, Albon in the Wall

The drivers were back on the Sakhir circuit after a Free Practice session largely dominated by the two Mercedes. But this time, it’s at night that the drivers will be able to shine behind the wheel of their single-seaters. Notably, regular drivers George Russell and Kimi Räikkönen return, having been replaced by Roy Nissany and Robert Kubica this morning.

The FIA and Pirelli had chosen this day to test the 2021 prototype tires. While the drivers were obligated to complete at least 6 timed laps with these 2021 « C3 » tires, it is clear that the Italian manufacturer still has work to do on this rubber. Indeed, drivers were seen struggling with understeer and oversteer, even sending Pierre Gasly off track limits in the last corner.

Half an hour after the start of this session, the standings are led by Max Verstappen (1:29.318), closely followed by Sergio Pérez (+0.221) and Pierre Gasly (+0.509). At the bottom of the standings are the Mercedes, equipped with 2021 prototype tires. Already champions, the team is already working on next season and trying to understand this C3 tire compound as best as possible.

We had just passed the halfway point of the session when Alex Albon spun in the last corner and destroyed the right side of his RB16. The driver of car number 23 emerged unscathed, but he probably took a big hit to his morale. His seat is in jeopardy for next year, and this mistake might weigh heavily in the balance. Just as the session resumed, it was stopped again, thanks to a stray dog on the track of the Bahrain International Circuit.

Once resumed, the rest of the session sees the drivers doing long runs to perform race simulations. After extensive tests on the 2021 tires, Lewis Hamilton (1:28.971) and Valtteri Bottas (1:29.336) climb up the rankings to take 1st and 3rd place respectively, framing Max Verstappen (1:29.318) in 2nd.

Free Practice 2 Ranking