The second free practice session for the 2025 FIA Formula 1 Bahrain Grand Prix saw a strong showing from McLaren, with Oscar Piastri leading team-mate Lando Norris to complete a one-two finish. Piastri’s fastest lap was a 1:30.505, a mere 0.154 seconds ahead of Norris. The McLaren duo established a significant advantage over the rest of the field during the hour-long session. Mercedes’ George Russell finished third, half a second adrift of Piastri, while Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, the winner of the Japanese Grand Prix, ended the session in seventh place, more than eight-tenths of a second off the pace.
Early Pace and Steering Issues: The initial stages of the session saw Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton setting the early pace on medium compound tires with a lap of 1:32.157. Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli, running on soft tires, slotted into second place, just 0.141 seconds behind Hamilton. George Russell, also on softs, was third, almost four-tenths slower than his former team-mate. Max Verstappen then moved ahead of Russell with a lap of 1:32.376 on soft tires, after the Red Bull driver had earlier voiced concerns about the bumpy ride of his car. Meanwhile, Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso encountered a problem with his steering wheel, forcing him to return to the garage for a replacement.
Timesheet Battles and McLaren’s Soft Tire Runs: Just after the fifteen-minute mark, Russell broke into the 1:31s, taking the top spot and outpacing Hamilton by two-tenths of a second. Hamilton then switched to soft tires and, thanks to a strong middle sector, reclaimed P1 with a lap of 1:31.915, although this was still almost two seconds slower than Verstappen’s pole time from 2024. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc briefly held the top spot after also using soft tires to set a benchmark of 1:31.729. However, his time at the summit was short-lived as Williams’ Alex Albon posted a 1:31.696 to move ahead, followed by Verstappen, who found almost four-tenths more to take P1 with a lap of 1:31.330. McLaren’s Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri spent much of the first half of the session running on the hard Pirelli compound. As the session approached its midpoint, both drivers switched to soft tires, with Piastri setting the fastest time of 1:30.505, just 0.0154 seconds ahead of Norris. The Mercedes duo also moved ahead of Verstappen, with Russell in third, half a second behind Piastri, and Antonelli a further two-tenths back in fifth.
Long Runs and Final Order: With just over 20 minutes remaining, Leclerc managed to split the two Mercedes cars, finishing just 0.013 seconds behind Russell. However, Verstappen saw no improvement in his time, complaining of brake issues at the final corner as he remained in seventh place. Interestingly, the highest-placed car from the Red Bull stable was Isack Hadjar of Racing Bulls, who set a time of 1:31.238 on medium tires to take sixth. Verstappen and his team-mate Yuki Tsunoda focused on longer runs on the soft compound, with Tsunoda finishing down in 17th. As the session concluded with teams focusing on long runs, the times settled with the McLarens of Piastri and Norris in the top two positions, followed by Russell and Leclerc. Antonelli finished fifth, with Hadjar sixth and Verstappen seventh. Hamilton took eighth for Ferrari, just 0.008 seconds ahead of Haas’ Oliver Bearman, who put in a strong performance to finish ahead of the Williams pair of Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon.
Summary:
- Oscar Piastri led a McLaren one-two in Bahrain FP2.
- Lando Norris finished second, 0.154 seconds behind Piastri.
- George Russell was third for Mercedes, half a second off the pace.
- Max Verstappen finished seventh, complaining of brake issues.
- Isack Hadjar was the highest-placed Red Bull-affiliated car in sixth.
Disclaimer: This report details the results of the second free practice session. Performance in this session may not be indicative of qualifying or race performance as teams run different programs.
Source: FIA
AI Assistance: Gemini