Carlos Sainz ends Day 2 on top with eye-catching time

Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz set the tempo on the second day of pre-season testing on the Bahrain International Circuit, because the Spaniard elected to carry out a number of qualifying simulation runs on Pirelli’s C3 and C4 compound.

Ferrari shared the driving duties between its two drivers on the second of pre-season testing with Charles Leclerc getting behind the wheel of the SF-24 first earlier than Carlos Sainz took over the brand new automotive for the afternoon. The Monegasque posted a number of encouraging instances on low gasoline, utilizing Pirelli’s C3 compound to guide the morning session.

The opening session got here to an early finish due to a monitor inspection, triggered by Leclerc operating over a drain cowl and sprinkling particles on the strategy to Turn 11. With the lunch break having introduced ahead, the afternoon session was prolonged by an hour. Leclerc continued to rack up laps within the first hour of the afternoon session earlier than his team-mate Carlos Sainz took over the SF-24 for the remainder of the day.

Following a number of set up laps, Sainz elected to carry out a number of low-fuel runs, first on Pirelli’s C3 compound after which on the C4 tyres that won’t even make an look at subsequent weekend’s Bahrain Grand Prix.

The Madrid-born driver shortly took over the lead on the yellow-banded tyres earlier than recording eye-catching lap instances on the red-walled C4 compound. His finest effort noticed him clock in a 1.29.921s that was over seven tenths of a second faster than what second-fastest Sergio Perez managed on the C3 tyre for Red Bull.

(*2*) Sainz concluded.

Perez endured a number of points on his first check day, together with a small brake fireplace, however he racked up a complete of 129 laps. Having sat out the opening day, Lewis Hamilton obtained behind the wheel of the brand-new W15 on Thursday with the seven-time world champion finishing 123 lap en path to the third-fastest lap.

McLaren had a robust opening day, and their new automotive appeared fast and steady on Day 2, significantly within the fingers of Lando Norris. Daniel Ricciardo posted the fifth-fastest lap for the Visa Cash App RB outfit whereas his team-mate Yuki Tsunoda completed final, having totally targeted on high-fuel runs.

Lance Stroll completed seventh for Aston Martin with Esteban Ocon, Valtteri Bottas and Oscar Piastri closing out the top-10. Having posted the eleventh quickest lap, Fernando Alonso recorded solely a complete of 31 laps as his day ended early when the session got here to an finish after simply over two hours of operating.

Although Logan Sargeant had a number of points out on monitor, together with a half-spin exiting Turn 10, the American managed to clock in a complete of 117 laps.

“There are lots of positives despite there being some things for us to fix, but I’m looking forward to getting back into the rhythm as I started to feel more comfortable throughout the day. I’m fighting the car a little more than I’d like but those things will come together soon. It’s still a great day of experience ahead of next weekend. Testing went by quickly and I definitely would’ve liked another day but it will be great to see Alex in the car tomorrow and for us to keep testing the car,” Sargeant mentioned.