Day 2 Team and Driver Updates, While sticking to the stiffest Pirelli C3 tires for the second day of Bahrain Formula 1 testing, Ferrari bolted to C4 for their hot lap, the softest compound available on Thursday, to continue and ‘own’ the second day at Sakhir.
Charles Leclerc topped the morning session, and Carlos Sainz followed his Ferrari team-mate’s feat to end the day fastest on the softest Pirellis available in Bahrain. Expected track day progress has been faster. Here’s what drivers and team representatives had to say at the end of the second day of Bahrain F1 preseason testing:
Ferrari: It’s uncertain how well we’ll perform in competition
Team report: The second day of Formula 1’s only pre-season test at the Bahrain International Circuit proved productive for Scuderia Ferrari, with Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz completing 141 laps (763 km). The numbers could have been higher, but a problem with Charles caused the session to shut down for quite some time.
One more day. Carlos will be out on track for the final day of testing at Sakhir tomorrow, with Charles taking over in the afternoon.
Carlos Sainz: Another day of testing has been completed as planned and without problems. We ran the entire afternoon program smoothly, combining various tests with low- and high-fuel runs, so it was interesting to get a feel for this year’s car in different configurations. I’m looking forward to tomorrow morning’s final session, where we’ll focus on the long run.
Charles Leclerc: The first two days went well as we ran our complete program, although, at this stage, we can’t say how competitive we are. Next week will be the first time we get an idea of where we stand in qualifying. We are in the car today and yesterday. Made some simple changes, focusing on fine-tuning our setup on the last day of testing.
Red Bull: The RB20 represents progress for the squad
Team report: Sergio Perez keeps the clock in Bahrain. Sergio Perez was given the RB20 on the second day of pre-season testing and clocked up an energy-zapping 129 using 10 sets of tyres. After eight hours of track time, the Mexican bull ended the day in P2, behind Carlos Sainz.
Sergio Perez: It was unexpected to be in the car all day today, but the delay meant my early run was cut short, so the team decided to extend my day, and I’ll be back in the car tomorrow morning. Generally speaking, the RB20 is a step forward for the team, and we’re headed in the right direction for us.
It’s a tricky track here from morning to afternoon, dialing in the setups and understanding those different setups because the track changes every outing, so you have to do a lot based on your feel. I’ve been working over the winter to understand last season from a personal perspective to start the season on an upward curve. You constantly learn and want to improve, and it is no different for me in 2024.
Gianpiero Lambiase, Head of Race Engineering: It was another tough day’s mileage for the team. Red flags this morning led us to change the driver swap we had planned for lunch, as it would otherwise have unfairly limited Checo’s initial impression of the RB20. We’re racking up a reasonable mileage rate, which is positive for reliability and system sign-off. Beyond that, Checo was able to evolve the setup to his liking, taking Max’s baseline from day one. We have plenty to analyze overnight before an important final day of testing.
Mercedes: There’s a definite enhancement in this year’s model of the car
Team report: Lewis enjoyed a full day behind the W15 at the Bahrain International Circuit on Thursday. Aero runs, and data collection dominated the morning, although that session was cut short by an isolated drain. A revised afternoon schedule added an extra hour to compensate for the lost run. Lewis completed a mix of race stints with some single-lap work at the end of the day. His best C3 tire eventually ran a 1:31.066, which kept him in P3 for the day.
Lewis Hamilton: It was a productive day out there,” Lewis said. “We’ve learned much about the W15 in our long-running and single-lap work. We’ve improved with the car this year, and it’s much nicer to drive. Many thanks to everyone at Brackley and Brixworth for all their efforts over the past year. I am grateful for all their hard work. We still have progress to make, of course. But it is a good foundation for us to build. We will keep our heads down and continue to work to improve for the rest of the exam and next week. I look forward to returning to the car tomorrow morning and continuing that learning.
Alpine: The team has had a successful day
Esteban Ocon: This afternoon was a long session with extended running. We missed some track time in the morning because of the stoppage, but we managed to make it back and finish the program we wanted to finish in the morning. We improved the car throughout the day, and it was nice to try out the car in different conditions, which is more reflective of what we will see next weekend at the Grand Prix. We did a bit of racing towards the end, which was fun too. This doesn’t usually happen during testing, but this time, everyone was very keen, and it was very exciting going into Turn 1 with several cars side by side and sparks flying everywhere. I’m hungry to go racing now!
Pierre Gasly: It was a good day for the team in Bahrain, with many tests completed and lots of data for us to analyze. Unfortunately for me, our session was cut short with a red flag. It’s never ideal because we couldn’t complete our entire program, but that’s how it is sometimes.
I look forward to returning to the car tomorrow afternoon and optimizing the package. We understand different things every time the car is on the track, and we are doing our best to learn before the season’s first race. A shorter day than I expected. My time in the car tomorrow will be crucial.
McLaren: Yet Another Strong Performance
Lando Norris: Another day of testing is done. We ran into some minor problems that set us back today, so we didn’t get what we wanted to do in the second session, especially on high fuel. The balance of the car still has some work to do, but there was still a lot to learn, which is good. We have lots to see tonight and some different things to try and test tomorrow.
Oscar Piastre: Today’s morning was a bit shorter than planned due to the red flag, however, it was still a very useful session. We did a lot of work focusing on setup work while dialing the car. The pace seems reasonable, and we are progressing with our test program. Another tough day, and I’m looking forward to getting more laps in tomorrow.
José Manuel López, Head of Testing: Another day of testing has been completed in Bahrain. Although it was less straightforward due to red flags due to circuit problems, we still collected a lot of data and learned more about the MCL38. Along with Oscar, we completed some rake work to collect data for our aerodynamics team as part of a combined program across both mornings and some setup work. We then used the extra afternoon session with Lando to gather more aerodynamic data and study some features. We also focused on short runs on soft tires, car setup, performance runs, and race runs before we ran into a small fuel system issue, which we fixed and headed out again. We will have a good debrief this evening and get ready with the engineers, mechanics, drivers, and support team back at the factory before taking all our learning into the final day of testing.
Williams: Logan has concluded his pre-season testing
Dave Robson, Head of Vehicle Performance: We completed over 100 laps today, including a full race simulation. The car behaved well for most of the day, and we were able to make good progress. We experienced a few issues, ending each session slightly earlier than intended. However, both issues were small and understood so that we will address them tonight. Logan’s pre-season testing is now complete. He did a good job today and now hands the car over to Alex for the final day of testing before the race season starts next week. We still have a lot of work we want to do, but if we can have another productive day tomorrow, we will be in a better position than in FP1 on Thursday.
Logan Sargent: We still had a few issues throughout the day, but the red flag helped in the extended session. It was generally a positive day. We have made good progress in the right direction and know where we are going. There are a lot of positives, even though we have some things to fix. I’m looking forward to returning to a rhythm as I feel more comfortable throughout the day. I’m struggling with the car more than I’d like, but these things will come together soon. It’s still a great day to experience next weekend. The test went quickly, and I would have liked another day, but it would be great to see Alex in the car tomorrow and continue testing it for us.
Haas: It appears to be a progression and enhancement
Team report: MoneyGram Haas F1 Team drivers Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen completed 124 laps on the second day of pre-season testing at the Bahrain International Circuit. Hulkenberg first tasted racing in Bahrain when he drove the VF-24 in the day’s opening session. The afternoon program started an hour earlier than originally scheduled, giving teams back some of the time they had lost earlier. Magnussen got back behind the wheel for an extended session, focusing again on long-term performance and doing comparable work in cooler temperatures.
Kevin Magnussen: It’s another tough day for us. We’re focusing on the race run and high-fuel performance, solving the same problems as yesterday. Our tire issues have been our main focus since last year and are very interesting. We’ve made some progress, and there’s a lot of work to do, but they’re going in the right direction. I’m not sure how fast we are. I’d be surprised if we’re in a very different position than last year, but we’re in a bit better position with the tires. It isn’t easy to finish running on one track in one set condition. But for now, there are positive signs on matters from last year.
Nico Hulkenberg: Yesterday was good because it was a lot of work. We got laps and some quality work. They were cut short this morning by track problems, so we lost a bit of time, but so far, so good. We’ve done some good things already, and it feels like a step forward and an improvement over 12 months ago, which is good news, but it will still be a challenging time.
Ayao Komatsu, Team Principal: Following up from yesterday, we continue our program on tire management and high-fuel performance. Nico drove in the morning, and even though his interruption cut the session short, we got the initial answer we wanted. We handed it over to Kevin in the afternoon, and he ran five hours. Again, it was a good session. We got a lot of good data and confirmation about what we wanted to run, so I’m pretty happy with the last couple of days. Tomorrow, as we have two decent days, we may change the program a bit, but I’m looking forward to another productive day of testing.
Sauber: Another productive and stable day of evaluations
Team report: Stake F1 Team Kick Saber enjoyed a positive second day of pre-season testing at the Bahrain International Circuit. It was another productive day for the team, which followed yesterday’s instructions and collected another good amount of mileage and data for the engineers to work with. This morning, Zhou Guanyu’s turn was to bring the C44 to the track alongside Valtteri Bottas in the afternoon session. Despite a shortened morning session due to a red flag caused by a loose piece of drain cover, the team still managed to complete its full program, including some performance runs and race simulations in the latter part of the afternoon.
Valtteri Bottas: Another good day on track today. We collected a lot of data over 130 laps, and the driving felt smooth, even better than yesterday, with more excellent track conditions – since I took part in the afternoon session, which is closer to what we will experience next week. I believe we’ve gone ahead and got some more performance, which certainly gives us a good feeling. Still, there’s always room for improvement, and that’s the direction we aim for tomorrow, trying to get everything out of the last day of testing.
Zhou Guanyu: Today was another difficult day for our exam. We saw some progress compared to yesterday and were able to collect more valuable data and insights. Unfortunately, we had to end our morning run early due to red flags, but fortunately, we still managed to get our expected program without cutting anything short. Another day tomorrow to get a better feel for the car before our first race next weekend.
