Hours after an excellent showing from Lando Norris, McLaren again topped the timesheets of Free Practice 2 at the Bahrain Grand Prix, this time with Oscar Piastri. Depsite impressive moments from Mercedes’ George Russell, and Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, McLaren emerged strongest, claiming a 1-2 , ahead of Russell in P3. Ferrari, on the other hand, struggled in the second half, with Leclerc failing to keep his SF-25 within the white lines on multiple occassions. Red Bull too, failed to impress, with Max Verstappenn finishing P7.
Norris tops Bahrain GP Free Practice 1
Free Practice 1 (FP1) at the 2025 F1 Bahrain Grand Prix saw several teams field rookie drivers, under the new policy requiring them to have the young drivers complete at least four Free Practice sessions across the seasons. Among the replacements were Ryo Hirakawa (Haas), Dino Beganovic (Ferrari), Frederik Vesti (Mercedes), Felipe Drugovich (Aston Martin), Luke Browning (Williams), and Ayumu Iwasa (Red Bull), with Red Bull fielding an all-Japanese lineup for the session.
Grip was a major issue for many drivers under scorching 50°C track temperatures. Vesti locked up multiple times, Lance Stroll had a snap at Turn 4, and Oscar Piastri ran wide at Turn 13. Liam Lawson criticized the Racing Bull’s handling, while Yuki Tsunoda called the RB21 throttle response “lazy.” Antonelli suffered early engine issues, ending his session after just a few laps. Mercedes, did, however, complete the most laps of the session with Vesti, though Antonelli’s lack of running was a setback.
There were two notable close calls: Albon was unsafely released into Tsunoda’s path in the pit lane, and he also nearly collided with Browning while impeding the Williams junior on a fast lap.
Soft tyre runs began mid-session, with Gabriel Bortoleto first to post a representative time. Nico Hulkenberg briefly topped the timesheets despite a lockup, before Esteban Ocon, Pierre Gasly, and eventually Lando Norris set the pace. Norris ended the session quickest with a 1:33.204.
Though not definitive of the weekend’s performance, some teams will be encouraged by their FP1 results. However, with all eyes turned to FP2, the teams will be hoping for a strong showing under the more representative conditions.
Hamilton sets early benchmark on the medium tyres
With Free Practice 2 underway at the Bahrain GP, all drivers except Mercedes’ George Russell took to the track. With this being the teams’ best opportunity to test their cars under the conditions that they can expect in Saturday’s Qualifying Session, all three compounds of tyres were on display.
Just over five minutes into the session, Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton, on the medium tyres, set the early benchmark, leading Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli, on the soft tyres, by 0.141 seconds. McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, on the hard tyres, sat third. Russell then when third, settling 0.386 seconds behind his teammate, as Alpine’s Pierre Gasly, on the hard tyre, went fifth, leading Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc who seemed to be struggling with grip.
Less than 10 minutes into the session, Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso limped back to the garage. While no clear issue was evident, the matter seemed serious, with the mechanics hurrying to work on the car. Alonso, on the other hand, climbed out, signaling a busier-than-expected session for the Silverstone-based team.
Meanwhile, Lando Norris returned to the pit lane, needing to swap his helmet and HANS device. The McLaren driver, on the hard tyres, was eighth after the first ten minutes, four places behind teammate Piastri.
13 minutes into Free Practice 2 at the Bahrain Grand Prix, Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen went third, settling 0.219 seconds behind session leader Hamilton. The 2025 Japanese GP winner completed his lap on the soft tyres. Leclerc, on the other had, continued to stuggle with grip, especially at Turn 10. This could be a problem for the Ferrari driver in Saturday’s Qualifying session. Having run over the kerb, he also sustained some damage to the SF-25, and returned to the pit lane for the necessary reapairs.
Russell goes top with 45 minutes to go
With just about 45 minutes left in Free Practice 2, Russell soared to the top of the timesheets with a 1:31.945. Hamilton, despite a strong first sector, failed to respond, though Antonelli moved past Verstappen to claim P3, 0.348 second behind his Mercedes teammate.
Turn 8 appeared to be the downfall of Hamilton’s lap, though, after double cool laps, he re-attempted his quest for the fastest lap. This was successful as he went top with a 1:31.935. Meanwhile, Alonso remained at the bottom of the table, with Aston Martin working on the steering of his car. The Spanish F1 veteran could not set a time before he accidentally pulled off his steering wheel, and with time ticking down, questions arose as to whether he would be able to make it onto track at all.
Piastri beats Norris and Russell to P1
After a difficult first quarter, Leclerc finally seemed to find his best racing line, going top with a 1:31.729. He finished 0.186 seconds ahead of his Ferrari teammate, and 2.089 seconds ahead of Haas’ Oliver Bearman down in P19 with just about 37 minutes left on the clock. William’s Alexander Albon, also on the soft tyres, then went top, 25 minutes into the session. He was soon knocked down to P2 by Verstappen who set a 1:31.330.
Norris, who topped Free Practice 1, put in a scorching lap that saw him claim his place at the top of the timesheet. His 1:30.669 was 0.671 seconds up on Verstappen’s best time. His teammate, Piastri, then went top with 1:30.505, while Russell, despite the best first sector of the session, had to settle for P3. Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar with fifth, just 0.011 seconds behind Antonelli in P4. Leclerc, having gone fastest before the most recent set of laps improved his fastest lap time, but ended up a disappointing P8.
Bearman makes it into top 10 halfway through the session
With just about 30 minutes left before the chequered flag, Bearman, who spent most of the Free Practice 2 down in P19, put in a blistering lap on the soft tyres, pulling himself into P7. His teammate, Esteban Ocon, who struggled with the VF-25’s newest upgrades in Japan, could match this, and settled for P14.
Having missed almost half of the session, Alonso finally emerged from the pit lane. In addition to their troubles with Alonso’s AMR25, Aston Martin have also had a difficult session with Lance Stroll. With just of 25 minutes remaining in the session, Stroll remained near the bottom of the table in P18, 1.877 seconds down on Piastri.
With 25 minutes on the clock, Hamilton, down in P15, improved to P7, settling three places ahead of teammate Leclerc, but 1.071 seconds behind Piastri. Williams’ Carlos Sainz, meanwhile, sat ahead of former Ferrari teammate Leclerc in P9, but was knocked to P10 after Leclerc improved his time to go P4. He did, however, struggle with that final turn, though he ultimately kept it within the white line. This could be his downfall in Qualifying with such violations will see his time deleted. Verstappen, meanwhile, informed his team that he was struggling with his brakes.
McLaren the dominant force with focus shifting to long runs
With less than 20 minutes left in the session, McLaren turned their focus on long run data collection in anticipation for Sunday’s race. Having missed out on most of Free Practice 2 at the Bahrain Grand Prix, Alonso, on the medium tyres, moved up to P15, settling four places head of teammate Stroll. This pushed Sauber’s Nico Hülkenberg to P20.
With less than 15 minutes remaining in the session, the German driver found himself 1.991 seconds down on Piastri whose hold on the top time remained unchallenged. Things were fairly settled on track, with teams no longer focused on qualifying simulations.
As the clock ticked down, the table remained unchanged, with Piastri remaining top of the timesheet into the final minute of Free Practice 2 of the Bahrain Grand Prix. He remained top as the chequered flag waved, finishing ahead of Norris in P2 and Russell in P3.
Full Session Results
- Oscar Piastri
- Lando Norris
- George Russell
- Charles Leclerc
- Kimi Antonelli
- Isack Hadjar
- Max Verstappen
- Lewis Hamilton
- Oliver Bearman
- Carlos Sainz
- Alexander Albon
- Liam Lawson
- Gabriel Bortoleto
- Jack Doohan
- Fernando Alonso
- Esteban Ocon
- Pierre Gasly
- Yuki Tsunoda
- Lance Stroll
- Nico Hülkenberg
