Formula 1 action kicked off today in Bahrain as the start of the 2024 season has finally arrived. FP1 and FP2 took lace today and Mercedes appears to be the front runners. No one in the F1 paddock expected Mercedes to start off so strong. Given the performance of their 2023 car many questions were raised as to how they would fair this season. Mercedes finishing 1-2 in FP2 well ahead of 2023 champion Max Verstappen.
Lewis Hamilton
“It was very windy in FP1, and the track was very different to during the test. We didn’t know exactly where we would stack up against everyone else, but we had a positive FP2 session. The car was feeling good, but we can’t get ahead of ourselves. We know there is more to extract, and our long run pace isn’t in the fight with the Red Bulls.”
Overall though, I’m feeling much happier with the car than last year. We’ve made some good improvements and it feels much more like a race car. It’s a really good platform for us to build from. We just need to keep our heads down and keep chasing.
George Russell
“We’re not going to get carried away after one day of practice. Our qualifying pace did look strong. We made some changes from the test and the improvement exceeded our expectations. But ultimately our long run pace is where it counts. Verstappen looked comfortably quickest, and it was very tight with the Ferraris, the McLarens, and the Aston Martins. So we’ve likely got a real fight on our hands there.
Nevertheless, we’re pleased with how our day has gone; the car is performing well. We will sit down and understand where the main improvements came from and try to sustain that. We want to be fighting for good positions on Saturday night.”
The Aston Martin’s again looked strong in the session with Fernando Alonso finishing third fastest. FP3 will be more telling regarding true pace as the teams will begin testing their qualifying pace setups ahead of qualifying. Haas continues to struggle running at the bottom of the table despite a change in leadership with Guenther Steiner’s exit. More to come from this weekend.
Full FP2 Results from the Bahrain Grand Prix Weekend
| Position | No. | Driver | Car | Time | Gap | Laps |
|---|
| 1 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | MERCEDES | 1:30.374 | | 25 |
| 2 | 63 | George Russell | MERCEDES | 1:30.580 | +0.206s | 23 |
| 3 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES | 1:30.660 | +0.286s | 22 |
| 4 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | FERRARI | 1:30.769 | +0.395s | 25 |
| 5 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | MCLAREN MERCEDES | 1:30.784 | +0.410s | 27 |
| 6 | 1 | Max Verstappen | RED BULL RACING HONDA RBPT | 1:30.851 | +0.477s | 25 |
| 7 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | HAAS FERRARI | 1:30.884 | +0.510s | 23 |
| 8 | 18 | Lance Stroll | ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES | 1:30.891 | +0.517s | 26 |
| 9 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | FERRARI | 1:31.113 | +0.739s | 26 |
| 10 | 11 | Sergio Perez | RED BULL RACING HONDA RBPT | 1:31.115 | +0.741s | 26 |
| 11 | 23 | Alexander Albon | WILLIAMS MERCEDES | 1:31.333 | +0.959s | 26 |
| 12 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | RB HONDA RBPT | 1:31.516 | +1.142s | 26 |
| 13 | 2 | Logan Sargeant | WILLIAMS MERCEDES | 1:31.715 | +1.341s | 27 |
| 14 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | HAAS FERRARI | 1:31.764 | +1.390s | 27 |
| 15 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | RB HONDA RBPT | 1:31.881 | +1.507s | 29 |
| 16 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | ALPINE RENAULT | 1:31.951 | +1.577s | 25 |
| 17 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | KICK SAUBER FERRARI | 1:32.001 | +1.627s | 24 |
| 18 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | ALPINE RENAULT | 1:32.027 | +1.653s | 25 |
| 19 | 24 | Zhou Guanyu | KICK SAUBER FERRARI | 1:32.048 | +1.674s | 28 |
| 20 | 4 | Lando Norris | MCLAREN MERCEDES | 1:32.608 | +2.234s | 25 |