Formula 1: Day 2 Testing Review

Day 2 of testing is complete in Bahrain and it is time to analyse the times and review which teams will be satisfied and which teams disappointed.

After each day, we will separate the events of the morning and afternoon session, then add things we have learnt, and positives and negatives on the first day.

Morning Session:

- Sainz finishes first in positive morning for Ferrari (1:32.486) – improves on Verstappen’s time yesterday.

- Sargeant second (+0.063), Alonso third (+0.483), Zhou fourth (+0.684), Magnussen fifth (+0.956)

- Hamilton & Mercedes struggle to find balance in the car in the heat – also lost bodywork during session.

- Zhou spent lengthy time in the garage – only 43 laps.

- Tsunoda completes the most laps (85) in the morning session.

- Practice start at the end of the session ends chaotically. Sainz almost hits Norris.

Afternoon Session:

- Zhou finishes first (1:31.620) after pipping Verstappen (1:31.650, +0.040)

- Alonso third (+0.595), De Vries fourth (+0.612), Hulkenberg fifth (+0.856)

- George Russell suffers hydraulic failure in Mercedes causing red flag – completed only 26 laps.

- Logan Sargeant completes 154 laps (most of any driver) in another good day for Williams.

- Zhou suffers engine problem while exiting pits in the final 15 minutes.

- Sargeant got out of Williams car late on after suspected electrical issue.

Testing Day 2 Classification (via @F1/Twitter)

Five things we have learnt:

1. Red Bull car running low and smoothly again – will be tough to beat in the early stages of the season.

2. Leclerc believes Red Bull are the ‘target’ and not the ‘focus’ going into this season. Confirms Ferrari are hiding true pace still.

3. Mercedes still struggles with finding balance in extreme conditions, similarly to 2022.

4. McLaren having another dismal test, cannot find a good spot. Zak Brown admits McLaren are behind in terms of development.

5. Aston Martin impressing other teams in the paddock – expected to be fighting for 4th.

Constructors Review:

Red Bull – Another clean day for the champions, with Verstappen finishing his test with a good time heading into the weekend. The car will be tough to beat next weekend, another good job from the Milton Keynes outfit, and the car has been beautifully designed.

Ferrari – Once again a quiet day, but effective day from Ferrari. It feels as if they have been heavily sandbagging. Will we see the true potential by the end of tomorrow’s test?

Mercedes – After a good first day, this day will frustrate the Silver Arrows. Struggled to find the balance in the morning and had limited running in the afternoon after the issue with Russell. Merc will pray for a clean day 3.

Alpine – Once again, Alpine not showing any sign of pace as they sit near the rear of the standings. They are undoubtedly sandbagging, but by how much? Tomorrow is a crucial day for the French team.

McLaren – A truly disappointing test on both days for McLaren. The team seem worried ahead of the season similarly to last year. Aston Martin undoubtedly look better, but there might be another early season struggle incoming for them.

Alfa Romeo – They will look at the standings with a big grin tonight. Zhou sitting ahead of Verstappen, which is based probably on the lack of sandbagging, but Alfa Romeo will be delighted with the pace so far, despite the late issue.

Aston Martin – A sense of real excitement is growing at Aston Martin. After years of mediocrity they look to be really competitive. And finally, it seems Alonso has chosen a good team. A chance for podiums potentially, they will be ecstatic. Third for Alonso again.

Haas – Look to be a solid midfield outfit, and they will be hoping their drivers will be prolific point-scorers this year. Good pace has been shown early on.

AlphaTauri – Have been completing many laps, and it was De Vries who showed some pace for the junior team today. Hard to place them, but they are undoubtedly collecting a lot of data without issues.

Williams – ‘The best test in a decade’ has been heard from Williams employees. The pace looks good but they will undoubtedly be reliant on Albon & his qualifying pace. Can Williams finally drag themselves off the back?

We will be back this time tomorrow for a wrap of the Day 3 test and the whole test altogether, including our predictions for the order of the cars!