In a stark contrast to this afternoon’s session it was a Mercedes 1-2 lockout with 7-time Champion leading the way ahead of teammate George Russell and the Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso in 3rdduring this evening’s FP2 Session.
Teams were predominately working on race runs through the 2nd half of the session, with Hamilton running a 12-lap stint to end his day of running, as teams were looking to lock down their soft tire running’s during the evening in order to mimic race conditions.
Hamilton’s fastest lap of 1:30.374 was the fastest lap of the day, 2.495s quicker than Ricciardo’s FP1 time and was set on the soft compound tires midway through the session as Mercedes and others ran early simulated Qualifying runs in the cooler temperatures. Lando Norris, who was 2nd in the first session today, was dead last on the timing sheets as his McLaren was hampered by electronic issues on his steering wheel as teammate Oscar Piastri finished the day 5th behind Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz.
WATCH: Ride onboard with Hamilton as he sets the fastest lap of Thursday in Bahrain
Max Verstappen set a time nearly half a second slower than Hamilton for the 6th fastest on the day ahead of the Haas of Nico Hulkenburg – who was 19th in FP1 – Lance Stroll, Charles LeClerc, and Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez in 10th.
As Thursday comes to a close, there are still many questions left un answered as teams will begin to set their cars for the Friday Qualifying session. Is Mercedes really back on top? Are Red Bull hiding their true pace? All that and more as we continue our first Grand Prix weekend of 2024.
Get ready for more on track action on Friday with Free Practice 3 and Qualifying. Weekend Schedule is below.
FP1 Report – CLICK HERE
FORMULA 1 GULF AIR BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX 2024 Schedule
| Date | Session | Time (Local Circuit) |
| Feb. 29th | Practice 1 | 14:30 – 15:30 |
| Practice 2 | 18:00 – 19:00 | |
| Mar. 1st | Practice 3 | 15:30 – 16:30 |
| Qualifying | 19:00 – 20:00 | |
| Mar. 2nd | Race | 18:00 |
Free Practice 2 Results:
| POS | NO | DRIVER | CAR | TIME | GAP | LAPS |
| 1 | 44 | Lewis Hamilton | MERCEDES | 1:30.374 | 25 | |
| 2 | 63 | George Russell | MERCEDES | 1:30.580 | 0.206s | 23 |
| 3 | 14 | Fernando Alonso | ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES | 1:30.660 | 0.286s | 22 |
| 4 | 55 | Carlos Sainz | FERRARI | 1:30.769 | 0.395s | 25 |
| 5 | 81 | Oscar Piastri | MCLAREN MERCEDES | 1:30.784 | 0.410s | 27 |
| 6 | 1 | Max Verstappen | RED BULL RACING HONDA RBPT | 1:30.851 | 0.477s | 25 |
| 7 | 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | HAAS FERRARI | 1:30.884 | 0.510s | 23 |
| 8 | 18 | Lance Stroll | ASTON MARTIN ARAMCO MERCEDES | 1:30.891 | 0.517s | 26 |
| 9 | 16 | Charles Leclerc | FERRARI | 1:31.113 | 0.739s | 26 |
| 10 | 11 | Sergio Perez | RED BULL RACING HONDA RBPT | 1:31.115 | 0.741s | 26 |
| 11 | 23 | Alexander Albon | WILLIAMS MERCEDES | 1:31.333 | 0.959s | 26 |
| 12 | 3 | Daniel Ricciardo | RB HONDA RBPT | 1:31.516 | 1.142s | 26 |
| 13 | 2 | Logan Sargeant | WILLIAMS MERCEDES | 1:31.715 | 1.341s | 27 |
| 14 | 20 | Kevin Magnussen | HAAS FERRARI | 1:31.764 | 1.390s | 27 |
| 15 | 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | RB HONDA RBPT | 1:31.881 | 1.507s | 29 |
| 16 | 10 | Pierre Gasly | ALPINE RENAULT | 1:31.951 | 1.577s | 25 |
| 17 | 77 | Valtteri Bottas | KICK SAUBER FERRARI | 1:32.001 | 1.627s | 24 |
| 18 | 31 | Esteban Ocon | ALPINE RENAULT | 1:32.027 | 1.653s | 25 |
| 19 | 24 | Zhou Guanyu | KICK SAUBER FERRARI | 1:32.048 | 1.674s | 28 |
| 20 | 4 | Lando Norris | MCLAREN MERCEDES | 1:32.608 | 2.234s | 25 |
