Lewis Hamilton achieved the fastest lap during the second morning session of Formula 1’s pre-season tests in Bahrain, as the day progressed into a quieter atmosphere due to unexpected rainfall disrupting much of the track activity.

Hamilton was the first participant to clock a lap time under 1m29s, recording a 1m29.670s just before the morning session concluded. This feat followed a temporary suspension of activity due to rain earlier in the session, as reported in a prior update.

As track conditions improved, Hamilton surpassed his earlier time of 1m30.080s before heavier rain set in, ultimately posting a 1m29.379s – a solid performance that showcased his skill as a newly signed Ferrari driver.

In the early portion of the morning, teams engaged in limited track activity, employing various aerodynamic measurement tools to collect data before transitioning to representative laps.

Unfortunately, nearly an hour of significant on-track action was lost as rain intensified; early drizzle escalated, causing both Oscar Piastri and Carlos Sainz to experience moments of oversteer at Turn 11.

Only two teams, Aston Martin and Haas, had anticipated sudden weather changes by bringing intermediate tires. This precaution kept most teams in the garage during the rain, with Haas being the first to send Esteban Ocon onto the damp track on green-walled tires.

Ocon took advantage of the conditions to gain valuable experience on a slick track, although his team’s single set of intermediate tires was used minimally.

George Russell, Mercedes

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

George Russell’s encouragement led to more drivers joining him on the track as conditions improved, although both he and Nico Hulkenberg encountered a few slides during their exploratory laps around the Bahrain circuit.

Hamilton’s increasing speed was notable, and Russell briefly challenged him with a time of 1m29.879s, securing the second-fastest position.

This was also a period of focus for Sainz, who initially climbed to third place on C2 tires before attempting a longer run meant to mimic race conditions. His efforts were curtailed by the rain, prompting him to aim for a retry in the afternoon session.

Pierre Gasly finished the morning in fourth place, outperforming Fernando Alonso, who spent his early laps on C1 tires before switching to mediums amid changing conditions.

After two hours dedicated to aerodynamic correlation work, Yuki Tsunoda had the opportunity to focus on performance in the latter part of the session, getting close to Alonso’s morning time by just a tenth.

Piastri finished seventh after limited running during the initial segment of the morning, which delayed his opportunity to set a competitive lap until the rain caused a slipping incident at Turn 11.

Liam Lawson’s session concluded prematurely due to water pressure issues in his Red Bull, resulting in a total of only 28 laps—43 fewer than Russell’s impressive 71 laps for the morning. Hulkenberg and Ocon rounded out the session results.

Bahrain F1 Test – Day 2 Morning Times

Photos from the Bahrain Pre-Season Testing – Day 2