Sainz tops day two as McLaren shows race pace strength

Carlos Sainz claimed the fastest time on the second day of F1's pre-season test in Bahrain, edging Lewis Hamilton's morning benchmark by just three-hundredths of a second.

The Williams driver's performance came amid a productive day where he completed a field-leading 127 laps despite brief rain interruptions.

Sainz set his quickest time of 1m29.348s on the C3 compound shortly after the lunch break, surviving a subsequent spin while attempting runs on the softer C4 tire.

Hamilton, now with Ferrari, finished second fastest, with Charles Leclerc taking over the Ferrari in the afternoon and ending third, only half a tenth slower than his new teammate.

McLaren's race pace impresses rivals

While headline times grabbed attention, the day's most significant development came during race simulations.

Lando Norris completed what observers called "the first race of 2025" with impressive pace that caught the paddock's notice.

The McLaren driver established a commanding advantage during full-distance race simulations against both Leclerc and Mercedes rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli.

Norris finished approximately 12 seconds ahead, though tire compound differences may have exaggerated this margin.

Despite Norris talking down McLaren's performance early in the day, mentioning rear instability concerns, the car's pace during long runs left little doubt about its potential.

McLaren team boss Andrea Stella confirmed that while some instability remains, it appears manageable and potentially even beneficial for a circuit like Bahrain.

Ferrari's progress with Hamilton

Hamilton's second day in the Ferrari showed clear progress as he topped the morning session and appeared increasingly comfortable in his new surroundings.

The seven-time world champion looked confident in the car with better responsiveness during his final runs, and his higher-fuel pace seemed competitive with other front-running teams.

Off-track, Hamilton's messaging was overwhelmingly positive.

"Every day with Ferrari has been significant so far and the past month couldn't have gone any better,"

he stated, adding that even his testing crash in the 2023 car had been valuable for building the right foundations with his new team.

Mercedes impresses with Russell and rookie Antonelli

Mercedes split their running between George Russell and rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli, with both drivers showing competitive pace.

Russell's effort from the morning session placed him fourth overall, just 0.006s ahead of his teenage teammate.

Antonelli completed his first proper race simulation on current Pirelli tires, an important milestone in his development.

Despite some inevitable errors as he pushed the limits, Mercedes was encouraged that his pace compared favorably with Ferrari and Red Bull's comparable runs, trailing only Norris's McLaren in the comparative analysis.

Williams emerges as potential dark horse

Williams continued to show surprising pace, with Sainz's benchmark time raising eyebrows throughout the paddock.

While Alex Albon hinted the lap may have been run lighter on fuel than rivals as part of Williams' specific testing program, the team's performance has consistently impressed observers.

The Grove-based squad's adoption of current-specification Mercedes rear suspension appears to have paid dividends after a disappointing 2024 campaign.

Trackside analysis suggested the Williams is the most impressive of the midfield contenders.

Teams focus on long runs

With one day remaining, most teams shifted focus to race simulations rather than chase headline times.

Lance Stroll finished sixth fastest for Aston Martin, ahead of Red Bull's Liam Lawson, who recovered from morning water pressure issues to complete valuable mileage.

Alpine duo Jack Doohan and Pierre Gasly finished eighth and ninth respectively, with Isack Hadjar rounding out the top ten as the only driver to set their fastest time on C4 tires rather than C3s.

At the bottom of the timesheets, Haas continued to prioritize long runs over single-lap performance, while Sauber's difficult start to testing continued with the car described as "visibly tricky" and inconsistent during trackside observations.