It’s clear. Dry. Air +32…29C. Route +36…27С
New generation cars are predictably inferior in reliability so far. On the fifth day of testing out of six, few of them managed without problems – with the duration of the tests twice as long as in 2021.
The teams traditionally planned to hold an imitation of qualification and race, but again and again they had to turn into the pits because of red flags – the day turned out to be a record one in terms of their number.
In the morning and evening the track is faster than during the day. Alpine divided the day into four parts. Okon got behind the wheel – first he drove a short series on soft tires, leading the protocol of the first session, and then switched to long ones. In the afternoon, everything was the opposite – the program began with long episodes, and ended with short ones. For the Frenchman, this is the last day of testing, tomorrow the team’s program will be completed by Fernando Alonso.
At Williams, a brake fire on Nicholas Latifi’s car in the middle of the first session seemed like a simple incident at first, but the car was badly damaged and the team ended the day with only 12 laps and the hope of returning to the track tomorrow.
Daniel Ricciardo was unwell yesterday, so McLaren changed the program and Lando Norris got behind the wheel. The Aussie was once again unable to work today – and despite a brake problem that caused Lando to lose several hours, he still completed the race distance.
In Haas F1, Mick Schumacher did not immediately leave the track in the morning due to an oil leak, and then ended the session ahead of schedule due to problems with the exhaust system. He was replaced in the afternoon by Kevin Magnussen, who returned behind the wheel after a year’s break – and his car worked more reliably.
Mercedes avoided problems. In terms of speed, they are still behind, but the team has always devoted winter tests to solving exclusively current problems, ticking off each scheduled task. In the morning, Russell drove the distance of the race, and in the afternoon, Hamilton could not immediately go to the track, losing about an hour – and ended up driving fewer laps.
The tests were interrupted by red flags more than once. First, because of Nicholas Latifi’s Williams caught fire, then because of a hydraulic fluid leak on the car of Valtteri Bottas, stops on the track by Esteban Ocon and Lando Norris. And twice more – to test the new FIA software in case of a race stop, start from a place and an additional warm-up lap.
According to the test results, many consider Ferrari the favorites of the first Grand Prix, while rivals solve problems with speed and reliability – and on the penultimate day of testing, Carlos Sainz led the protocol with the best time of this week.
Following the end of the Haas F1 test, they were given an extra hour to make up for the time lost on the first day – and Kevin Magnussen took first place in a short series of laps.
Tomorrow in Bahrain will be the final day of pre-season testing, and next week we will see the first Grand Prix.
Results of the second day of tests
| Pilot | Command | Time | Difference | Tires | Circles |
| 1. K. Magnussen | Haas | 1:33.207 | – | S4 | 60 |
| 2. K. Sainz | Ferrari | 1:33.532 | +0.325 | C4 | 60 |
| 3. M. Verstappen | Red Bull | 1:34.011 | +0.804 | C4 | 86 |
| 4. L. Stroll | Aston Martin | 1:34.064 | +0.857 | C4 | 70 |
| 5. L. Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:34.141 | +0.934 | C5 | 47 |
| 6. E. Okon | Alpine | 1:34.276 | +1.069 | C4 | 111 |
| 7. Sh. Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:34.366 | +1.159 | C3 | 54 |
| 8. L. Norris | McLaren | 1:34.609 | +1.402 | C3 | 60 |
| 9. S. Vettel | Aston Martin | 1:36.020 | +2.813 | C3 | 46 |
| 10. Y. Tsunoda | AlphaTauri | 1:36.802 | +3.595 | C3 | 120 |
| 11. V. Bottas | Alfa Romeo | 1:36.987 | +3.780 | C2 | 25 |
| 12. M. Schumacher | Haas | 1:37.846 | +4.639 | C2 | 23 |
| 13. D. Russell | Mercedes | 1:38.585 | +5.378 | C2 Pr | 67 |
| 14. N. Latifi | Williams | 1:39.845 | +6.638 | C2 Pr | 12 |
| 15. G. Zhou | Alfa Romeo | 1:41.805 | +6.777 | C2 Pr | 48 |