Sainz the Fastest on the Second Day of the “Formula Bahrain” Tests
Spanish driver Carlos Sainz, who is racing for the Williams team this season after his adventure with Ferrari ended, dominated the second day of the winter pre-season tests for the new Formula 1 World Championship season, held on Thursday at the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir.
Between the morning and afternoon sessions, Sainz completed double the laps of the Bahrain Grand Prix (57 laps), achieving the fastest time of 1:29.348 minutes on “C3” tires. He outperformed his successor at Ferrari, seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton from Britain, and his former teammate at “The Prancing Horse,” Charles Leclerc from Monaco.
Hamilton’s time from the morning session was enough to keep him in second place, just 0.031 seconds behind Sainz. Leclerc followed closely behind in third, only 0.083 seconds behind the Spaniard.
It seemed that McLaren’s British driver Lando Norris, who was the fastest on Wednesday in the first day of the only winter tests for the season, was on track to overtake Sainz in the final 15 minutes. However, he couldn’t build on his excellent time in the middle sector of the track, as he went off track at Turn 14, heading straight for the pits.
In this final season before the major technical rule changes in 2026, which will bring significant changes to both the engine and chassis, the closeness witnessed in 2024 will continue into the new season, making it extremely difficult to predict the outcomes.
This year’s cars will be an extension of last year’s models, and even if the teams work hard during the short pre-season period to improve their positions, the main focus will be on the 2026 season. Teams will soon stop developing their 2025 cars to concentrate all their resources on the car for the following year.
As the season, consisting of 24 races, progresses, teams are trying to make the most of the three Gulf days to learn more about their cars and fine-tune their settings in preparation for the opening race. The season will kick off in Australia on March 16.
On the second day, Mercedes’ British driver George Russell’s efforts in the first session were enough to secure fourth place, ahead of his new teammate, Italian Andrea Kimi Antonelli, by 0.006 seconds.
The sixth position went to Aston Martin’s Canadian driver Lance Stroll, ahead of New Zealand’s Liam Lawson, the new arrival to Red Bull, who drove alone for the Austrian team on Thursday. Meanwhile, World Champion Max Verstappen of the Netherlands was absent but is expected to return on Friday for the final day of the tests.
