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Piastri and Norris Secure McLaren 1-2 Finish in Bahrain Practice
In an impressive display during the second practice session of the Bahrain Grand Prix, Oscar Piastri outpaced his teammate Lando Norris, resulting in a McLaren one-two finish. Piastri’s qualifying simulation, completed in the latter half of the one-hour night session, was notable for being 0.154 seconds faster than Norris, allowing them to comfortably overshadow third-placed George Russell.
The session followed an intensely hot earlier practice that provided skewed data, but as night fell over the Arabian desert, the temperatures cooled, leading to more representative lap times. After an initial flurry of action, including a moment of chaos when Fernando Alonso had to replace his steering wheel mid-session, the drivers commenced serious time trials.
Russell initially led the pack before a series of single-lap runs led to rapid improvements in lap times around the midpoint of the session. World champion Max Verstappen briefly claimed the top spot, but it was soon eclipsed by the strong performances from the McLaren duo, with Piastri’s soft-tyre lap clocking in at 1:30.505.
Despite Russell’s Mercedes appearing quicker on the straights, they fell behind in high-speed corners, finishing the session in third place with a gap of over half a second to the McLaren leaders. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc demonstrated solid pace, completing the session fourth, while rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli achieved an impressive fifth position.
The rookie sensation from Racing Bulls, Isack Hadjar, continued his momentum from a successful outing in Japan, finishing sixth and comfortably ahead of Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton of Ferrari. Haas driver Oliver Bearman claimed a commendable ninth, while Carlos Sainz rounded out the top 10 for Williams.
On the other hand, Yuki Tsunoda found the session challenging, ending up in 18th place in the second Red Bull. This performance may not fully reflect the team’s potential, as they often engage in lower engine modes during Friday sessions, which can lead to distorted results.
F1 Bahrain GP – FP2 Results Summary
These practice sessions set the stage for what could be an exciting race weekend, particularly for McLaren, which appears to have found a competitive edge as the championship battle continues.
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