2025 F1 Bahrain pre-season testing - Day 2 as it happened

That's all for today, folks! Thanks once again for joining our live coverage and stay on Crash.net for all of the best news and reaction to what has happened so far in pre-season testing. 

We have just one more day of action coming up from Bahrain tomorrow, and we will once again be providing full coverage of the day. 

Make sure to come back here at 7am UK time. 

Just five minutes left of running on the second day of F1 pre-season testing. Will we see any late changes to the timesheet? 

The long run pace of Lando Norris has caught the attention of Sky Sports F1 pundit Karun Chandhok, who says the McLaren is looking stronger than the Ferrari as things stand. 

Comparing Charles Leclerc's long run to Norris, Chandhok said: "His race run compared to Norris' is not looking very good. He's still in the 1:33s on this last stint.

"Even if you say they have a different engine mode, one second per lap [difference]!"

And just like that, there's less than half an hour to go today. 

Long runs have been the order of the PM session so far, but will we get any low-fuel running and some fast laps in the closing stages of the day? 

“It is kind of the elephant in the room when we talk about Aston Martin," said Sky Sports pundit Karun Chandhok. 

“Lawrence Stroll has built an amazing factory with top engineering talent and has Fernando Alonso as a driver.

"So is Lance the weak link in that team? Looking purely statistically, it is clear those are the facts. He is no longer a newbie so what can he do to find consistency and rack up the points?

"If Aston Martin want to contend for the constructors' title, they need both drivers scoring points.”

Stroll sits sixth in the current timesheet. 

Wondering why Liam Lawson has been stuck in the garage for a little while? Red Bull have provided an explanation.

 "We are racking up a little bit of mileage today and the car needs an occasional service between runs," they say. 

Carlos Sainz has just hit a century of laps - completing his 100th tour of the Bahrain International Circuit today. A solid effort from the new Williams driver, who is the pacesetter on Day 2 as we tick into the final hour of running. 

Sainz, Leclerc, Antonelli, Norris, Doohan and Bortoleto are all on track at the moment as the skies of Sakhir continue to darken as daylight fades. Most of the drivers are conducting long runs and pounding in the laps. 

Leclerc has been speaking about the arrival of his new teammate Hamilton at Ferrari. 

“I haven’t been surprised,” Leclerc said during the lunch break. “I think Ferrari has always had a lot of attention around the team.

“And of course, this year, it’s even bigger because Lewis is joining the team and he’s obviously a legend of the sport, so it’s normal that there’s even more attention than there normally is.

“The normal standard is already quite high. Now with Lewis, everything is kind of exploding and there’s obviously a lot of coverage and a lot of requests and all of this.

“But it’s part of the job and the team in the background is doing a really good job because as a driver, it’s not like I can feel it that much.

“I can obviously see the craziness. At Fiorano, we drove the car and I can see the craziness around the track and that’s amazing to see. But I only see the positive.”

Max Verstappen and Lando Norris have made light of their F1 rivalry ahead of the 2025 season.

Speaking in a press conference on the second day of F1 pre-season testing in Bahrain, Red Bull's four-time world champion joked: “It’s terrible, the relationship. We don’t get on anymore. 

"It’s taken its toll. Big drama now, big problems.”

Norris then quipped: “We had a fight the other day in a local pub.”

To which, Verstappen joked back: “We had to get escorted!”

"I am thinking ahead for the future.

"But it's not something I think about now. I am focused on my role.

"After last season, this is the best way."

Williams' Carlos Sainz has embarked on a race run now.

Leclerc has just had a spin at the final corner, completing a full 360 before returning to the pits. 

Moments earlier, Doohan locked up and ran wide earlier in the circuit. 

Is the greasy surface starting to catch the drivers out? Spits of rain have continued to fall throughout the early running this afternoon. 

Couple of wide moments for Antonelli, who runs wide at Turn 10 after a small lock-up. The 18-year-old Italian is clearly trying to find the limit of his new Mercedes W16. 

"We are working through a programme, lots of different configurations as you have to get all that data through three days of running. At the moment, the data ties in with our simulations," Horner told F1TV.

"We have understood some of the limitations of RB20 and the team have worked hard to try and address those. Last year, we had a car that on occasion was very quick, winning races and sprints and getting more pole positions than anyone else, but it was very sensitive and to extract performance was difficult.

"Both drivers are now reporting that it is easier to drive."

It is raining once more at Sakhir, but with the current temperatures, it isn't affecting running with several drivers out on track and lapping the circuit. 

Leclerc has just been informed that drops of rain should last for around "twenty to thirty" minutes.