Fernado Alonso quicker than Verstappen and Perez in Bahrain FP2

As the Aston Martin threat seems to become more and more reality, Fernando Alonso ended up faster in second practice at Bahrain. World Champion Max Verstappen was a close second fastest with his Red Bull teammate Perez third.

Second practice at Bahrain is always an important session as it provides cooler conditions compared to first practice and is importantly scheduled at similar times as qualifying and the race. Alonso made perfect use of it and further warned his rivals even though his 1:30.907 is still 6 tenths away from the best time that Perez recorded in pre-season testing one week earlier.

Alonso did two qualifying runs on the soft tyre and headed the session while Verstappen complained about the bumps at Sakhir International Circuit, additionally saying that his RB19 was jumping more than it was in testing.

Behind the top three was Charles Leclerc who was only narrowly faster than Formula One returnee Nico Hulkenberg in his Haas. Lance Stroll ended up 6th as he discovered the AMR23 on his first day in the car. A cycling incident had ruled him out of pre-season testing but a similator test with increased steering forces was satisfactory for the team to let him compete leaving reserve driver Felipe Drugovich sidelined.

The Candian however had to be helped out of the car after the session, raising concerns whether he is ready to compete a full Grand Prix.

Pos. No. Driver Car Time Gap Laps
1 14 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes 1:30.907 25
2 1 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing Honda Rbpt 1:31.076 +0.169s 24
3 11 Sergio Perez Red Bull Racing Honda Rbpt 1:31.078 +0.171s 26
4 16 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:31.367 +0.460s 26
5 27 Nico Hulkenberg Haas Ferrari 1:31.376 +0.469s 25
6 18 Lance Stroll Aston Martin Aramco Mercedes 1:31.450 +0.543s 28
7 10 Pierre Gasly Alpine Renault 1:31.475 +0.568s 24
8 44 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:31.543 +0.636s 27
9 4 Lando Norris Mclaren Mercedes 1:31.570 +0.663s 27
10 24 Zhou Guanyu Alfa Romeo Ferrari 1:31.586 +0.679s 27
11 31 Esteban Ocon Alpine Renault 1:31.608 +0.701s 25
12 77 Valtteri Bottas Alfa Romeo Ferrari 1:31.793 +0.886s 28
13 63 George Russell Mercedes 1:31.882 +0.975s 25
14 55 Carlos Sainz Ferrari 1:31.956 +1.049s 28
15 81 Oscar Piastri Mclaren Mercedes 1:32.024 +1.117s 27
16 20 Kevin Magnussen Haas Ferrari 1:32.110 +1.203s 18Bha
17 23 Alexander Albon Williams Mercedes 1:32.440 +1.533s 28
18 22 Yuki Tsunoda Alphatauri Honda Rbpt 1:32.525 +1.618s 27
19 21 Nyck De Vries Alphatauri Honda Rbpt 1:32.605 +1.698s 28
20 2 Logan Sargeant Williams Mercedes 1:32.749 +1.842s 29

Source: www.f1technical.net

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