The second practice session of the F1 Bahrain GP 2022, held at night and with conditions similar to those we will experience in qualifying and in the race, saw the defending champion, Verstappen , finish in first position with his Red Bull.
The #1 still seems to have some margin, and was no faster than when, just a week ago, he led the last day of pre-season testing at the same circuit.
However, and at least at this start of the course, his rival does not seem like Mercedes, but rather Ferrari, and Leclerc managed to leave the Cavallino only 87 thousandths (0.087s) behind the Dutchman. With the other red car, and apparently less comfortable than his teammate, Sainz finished third, although half a second behind the two leading drivers.
Russell was the best Mercedes, six tenths behind Verstappen and ahead of an Alonso who put the Alpine fifth, although almost a second behind the leader. The Asturian, in turn, left about five tenths to his teammate Ocon, who finished far and 12th, reporting excessive porpoising. Alonso led a very tight middle zone, where just three tenths separated 5th from 10th.
In fact, in the top ten we saw the two Ferraris, the two Red Bulls (with Checo Pérez seventh), a surprising Bottas , sixth with the Alfa Romeo and, even more surprisingly, the two Haas: Mick Schumacher finished eighth and Magnussen , tenth. Among them he finished, complaining about a Mercedes W13 that is not working at the moment, Hamilton , ninth, after blocking tires and having to abort his first fast lap and apparently with DRS problems.
Results of Free Practice 2 of the Bahrain GP 2022 Formula 1
(Click on ‘see results’ to enjoy the entire table)
| Cla | Pilot | laps | Weather | Difference | Interval | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
 |
20 | 1’31.936 | ||
| 2 |  |
 |
20 | 1’32.023 | 0.087 | 0.087 |
| 3 |  |
 |
22 | 1’32,520 | 0.584 | 0.497 |
| 4 |  |
 |
25 | 1’32.529 | 0.593 | 0.009 |
| 5 | |
 |
24 | 1’32.877 | 0.941 | 0.348 |
| 6 |  |
 |
30 | 1’32.951 | 1.015 | 0.074 |
| 7 |  |
 |
twenty | 1’32.958 | 1,022 | 0.007 |
| 8 |  |
 |
24 | 1’33.085 | 1.149 | 0.127 |
| 9 | |
 |
23 | 1’33.144 | 1.208 | 0.059 |
| 10 |  |
 |
23 | 1’33.183 | 1.247 | 0.039 |
| see results | ||||||
Summary: this was the practice 2 of the Formula 1 Bahrain GP 2022
Already under the light of the lights of the Bahrain circuit, many drivers took to the track as soon as the green traffic light came on, with Kevin Magnussen in the lead. Curiously, and while Ferrari started with its two drivers, both Red Bull Racing and Mercedes made last minute adjustments to their cars in the garage, and the two of them, as well as Pérez, Alonso and Tsunoda, waited in the garage.
The job at Mercedes involved changing Hamilton’s car to the gravel spec that teammate Russell had used in FP1.
With mediums, Leclerc marked a 1:33.121 that put him in the lead ahead of Sainz , and Alonso , also with mediums, was placed third, 1.2s from the Monegasque. It didn’t take long for Hamilton and Verstappen to leave, and while the Briton was unable to overtake Alonso and saw the Ferraris more than a second behind, the reigning champion broke the first sector record but was just half a second behind Leclerc.
Hamilton complained of excessive porpoising in his car, and when there were still 43 minutes left, Checo Pérez finally came out on the track. However, the Mexican set up an important block at turn 8 and his time was only enough for him to be fifth, six tenths behind his teammate.
We weren’t even halfway through the session when they started to fit the soft tyres, which allowed Magnussen to put the Haas into second position and Ocon to put the Alpine into third.
Carlos Sainz set the fastest time in the first sector, but Fernando Alonso did it in the second and third to momentarily become first, at the top of the table, with Sainz behind and a time of 1:32.877. When Leclerc made his lap, the Monegasque beat Alonso’s reference by six tenths, but Verstappen managed to put another three tenths on Leclerc.
Leclerc’s second attack left him just 87 thousandths behind Verstappen, while Russell, although half a second behind, was placed third. Hamilton could not get past ninth position, and the Haas surprised by getting one ahead and one behind, among the top ten. Bottas could not with Alonso, but he could with Checo Pérez , before the teams went on to test race pace with harder compounds for Sunday.
Hamilton had had to abort his first flying lap on softs after failing at Turn 1, reporting a “front brake problem”. Mercedes then explained that they also lost time with a malfunctioning DRS.
From then on, few things changed in the table, although Verstappen, after 12 laps on soft, set the first sector record. However, the Dutchman would not complete that lap with a record and settled for 1:31.936 which allowed him to close Friday in front.
Lando Norris finished 11th fastest, with teammate Ricciardo the least active, running just 12 laps and watching from the pits as McLaren worked on the rear of his MCL36 in the latter part of the session.
Leclerc’s FP2 ended on a negative note, as it was announced that he and Yuki Tsunoda are under investigation for an incident between them at the exit of the Turn 8 hairpin, where the AlphaTauri appeared to get in the way of the Ferrari.
Tsunoda, who finished 14th overall with FP1 leader Pierre Gasly 13th in the other AlphaTauri, also collided with Lance Stroll on the entrance to Turn 8 during the closing laps.
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Foto de: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images
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Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Carl Bingham / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Zak Mauger/Motorsport Images
Foto de: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
