George Russell (GBR) Mercedes AMG F1 W14 stopped on the circuit. Formula 1 Testing, Sakhir, Bahrain, Day Two.
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George Russell (GBR) Mercedes AMG F1 W14 stopped on the circuit. Formula…

What happened on the second day of F1 2023 pre-season testing

A recap of what happened on the second day of F1 winter testing in Bahrain.

There is just one day of testing left ahead of the new season which kicks off next weekend at the Bahrain Grand Prix.

24 Feb 2023
10:13
One hour to go

Top 10: Sainz, Alonso, Zhou, Sargeant, Magnussen, Ocon, Perez, Hamilton, Norris and Tsunoda.

10:11
What are Mercedes up to?

According to various reports, Mercedes are testing with a high downforce rear wing, due to more data being available from a bigger wing.

A lower downforce specification wing will likely be run for the actual weekend.

Lewis Hamilton (GBR) Mercedes AMG F1 W14. Formula 1 Testing, Sakhir, Bahrain, Day Two.- www.xpbimages.com, EMail:
Lewis Hamilton (GBR) Mercedes AMG F1 W14. Formula 1 Testing, Sakhir,…

10:09
P1 at the moment...

Carlos Sainz Jr (ESP) Ferrari SF-23. Formula 1 Testing, Sakhir, Bahrain, Day Two.- www.xpbimages.com, EMail:
Carlos Sainz Jr (ESP) Ferrari SF-23. Formula 1 Testing, Sakhir, Bahrain,…

10:01
Latest lap times

F1 2023 Bahrain pre-season testing - Day 2 Lap Times

Esteban Ocon (FRA) Alpine F1 Team A523. Formula 1 Testing, Sakhir, Bahrain, Day Two.- www.xpbimages.com, EMail:
Esteban Ocon (FRA) Alpine F1 Team A523. Formula 1 Testing, Sakhir, Bahrain…

 

09:59
Crofty's analysis of Nyck de Vries

"Nyck could have been one for the future for Mercedes. They were right to let him go. But they might regret it, one day..."

Nyck de Vries (NLD) AlphaTauri. Formula 1 Testing, Sakhir, Bahrain, Day One.- www.xpbimages.com, EMail:
Nyck de Vries (NLD) AlphaTauri. Formula 1 Testing, Sakhir, Bahrain, Day…

09:55
Hamilton's feedback on the W14

"Hanging onto the rear end a bit... looks a little bit snappy, unstable on the rear."

09:44
Fernando Alonso up to second

A 1m32.969s puts the Aston Martin driver 0.483s off Sainz's best lap.

09:31
Ted Kravitz's verdict

"The crucial thing for Mercedes is they've answered a very important question. Is this, essentially, a good car? Happily for Mercedes, the answer to that question is yes it is."

Lewis Hamilton (GBR) Mercedes AMG F1. Formula 1 Testing, Sakhir, Bahrain, Day Two. - www.xpbimages.com, EMail:
Lewis Hamilton (GBR) Mercedes AMG F1. Formula 1 Testing, Sakhir, Bahrain,…

09:24
Hamilton seventh

A 1:34.178 puts the Mercedes driver 1.6s behind Sainz.

09:02
Lap times after two hours

How things currently stand...

Zhou Guanyu (CHN) Alfa Romeo F1 Team C39. Formula 1 Testing, Sakhir, Bahrain, Day Two.- www.xpbimages.com, EMail:
Zhou Guanyu (CHN) Alfa Romeo F1 Team C39. Formula 1 Testing, Sakhir,…

08:59
Esteban Ocon to fourth

A 1m33.490s from the Alpine driver sends him up to fourth.

Alpine were, on average, the slowest team yesterday.

08:54
Leclerc on Red Bull's strong start to testing

"For now, we are really not focusing on [Red Bull] because we had very different programmes yesterday. 

"We are happy with what we have done, we have no idea how much fuel they have in the car and we have no idea how much they are pushing there.

"There are so many questions, so we don't focus on that, we focus on ourselves. We'll see what happens in the next few days."

Charles Leclerc (MON) Ferrari. Formula 1 Testing, Sakhir, Bahrain, Day One.- www.xpbimages.com, EMail:
Charles Leclerc (MON) Ferrari. Formula 1 Testing, Sakhir, Bahrain, Day One…

08:53
Zhou Guanyu to second

Alfa Romeo driver shoots up to second, six tenths behind Sainz.

08:47
Current order

 Sainz, Alonso, Magnussen, Perez, Hamilton.

Carlos Sainz Jr (ESP) Ferrari SF-23. Formula 1 Testing, Sakhir, Bahrain, Day One.- www.xpbimages.com, EMail:
Carlos Sainz Jr (ESP) Ferrari SF-23. Formula 1 Testing, Sakhir, Bahrain,…

08:37
Hamilton back out

Good news.

Mercedes have fixed whatever broke off Hamilton's car and the seven-time world champion is back out on track now after a brief spell in the pits.

08:29
Sainz extends advantage at top

Another quickest lap of the day from Sainz, who pulls eight-tenths clear of Alonso. 

08:26
Issue with Hamilton's car

Mechanics making a repair underneath Hamilton's car after a piece of debris flew off onto the track.

Fernando Alonso appeared to drive over it, but it didn't seem to damage his Aston Martin.

Mercedes mechanics are fixing Hamilton's car now.

Lewis Hamilton (GBR) Mercedes AMG F1 W14. Formula 1 Testing, Sakhir, Bahrain, Day Two.- www.xpbimages.com, EMail:
Lewis Hamilton (GBR) Mercedes AMG F1 W14. Formula 1 Testing, Sakhir,…

08:24
Lap count

Most laps so far:

Tsunoda: 23
Ocon: 20
Zhou: 19 
Alonso: 19
Sargeant: 19
Sainz: 16
Magnussen: 16
Perez: 16
Hamilton: 16
Norris: 14

08:16
Drugovich back on the sidelines

After replacing the injured Lance Stroll on Thursday, Aston Martin Felipe Drugovich is watching from the sidelines as Fernando Alonso carries out all the legwork by himself on day two. 

Aston Martin are yet to confirm their driver line-up for the final day of running.

Felipe Drugovich (BRA) Aston Martin F1 Team, Reserve and Development Programme Driver. Formula 1 Testing, Sakhir, Bahrain,
Felipe Drugovich (BRA) Aston Martin F1 Team, Reserve and Development…

08:05
A couple of explainers here...
08:04
Change at the top

Carlos Sainz stretches the legs of his Ferrari to go fastest, a whole second clear of Kevin Magnussen's previous benchmark. 

Carlos Sainz Jr (ESP) Ferrari SF-23. Formula 1 Testing, Sakhir, Bahrain, Day Two.- www.xpbimages.com, EMail:
Carlos Sainz Jr (ESP) Ferrari SF-23. Formula 1 Testing, Sakhir, Bahrain,…

08:01
Netflix have exposed a huge row

Explosive Wolff vs Horner bust-up revealed: “Change your f****** car!”

(L to R): Toto Wolff (GER) Mercedes AMG F1 Shareholder and Executive Director and Christian Horner (GBR) Red Bull Racing
(L to R): Toto Wolff (GER) Mercedes AMG F1 Shareholder and Executive…

07:56
Norris back out for McLaren

Lando Norris is out on track and finally sets his first lap time of the day to go sixth.

It looks as though McLaren have got on top of whatever they were working on a little earlier. 

07:52
Perez goes close

Another improvement from Sergio Perez, who goes P2. 

It's two purple sectors from the Red Bull driver, but he ends up just 0.041s shy of early pacesetter Kevin Magnussen.

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