Most believe that this could turn into a Mercedes versus Red Bull slug-fest this weekend at the season-opening Formula 1 race, the Bahrain Grand Prix.
Is Mercedes still struggling or are they holding back their real pace for Saturday’s qualifying session? If Red Bull have made this a two-horse race, Sergio Perez will need to get on top of his pace in order to help the team capitalize on the constructor points on offer.
McLaren were impressive but like testing, it is difficult to know just how much fuel teams are carrying and if they are showing the full pace…which they most likely are not. Time will tell but things look tight at the top and midfield.
Bahrain GP Practice Two Times
| Driver | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1) Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 1:31.394 |
| 2) Lando Norris | McLaren | +0.095 |
| 3) Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | +0.235 |
| 4) Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | +0.280 |
| 5) Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | +0.371 |
| 6) Daniel Ricciardo | McLaren | +0.384 |
| 7) Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri | +0.447 |
| 8) Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | +0.546 |
| 9) Pierre Gasly | AlphaTauri | +0.636 |
| 10) Sergio Perez | Red Bull | +0.656 |
| 11) Esteban Ocon | Alpine | +0.754 |
| 12) Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | +0.765 |
| 13) Antonio Giovinazzi | Alfa Romeo | +0.893 |
| 14) Sebastian Vettel | Aston Martin | +0.922 |
| 15) Fernando Alonso | Alpine | +0.923 |
| 16) Kimi Raikkonen | Alfa Romeo | +1.015 |
| 17) George Russell | Williams | +1.484 |
| 18) Mick Schumacher | Haas | +2.450 |
| 19) Nicholas Latifi | Williams | +2.553 |
| 20) Nikita Mazepin | Haas | +2.602 |
