#F1 #BahrainGP FP2: @OscarPiastri pips @McLarenF1 team-mate @LandoNorris by 0.154s.

Piastri Bahrain GP FP2 – Oscar Piastri pipped team-mate Lando Norris to head a McLaren one-two in the evening FP2 session at the Bahrain GP as Mercedes’ George Russell rounded out the top three.

Piastri set the session-topping benchmark on the C3 red side-walled softer tyre and was 0.154 seconds faster than team-mate Norris whilst Russell was a further 0.527 seconds in third.

In conditions that are representative to both Qualifying and the Grand Prix, Leclerc was the first of the runners to emerge and registered the initial benchmark of the session with a 1:33.347 before the lap-times began to lit up the board.

All drivers were running a mixture of all the compounds available for the weekend.

Alpine’s Pierre Gasly then posted a 1:32.699 before Hamilton beat that by half-a-second.

Then some quick laps from Mercedes’ duo Andrea Kimi Antonelli and George Russell and McLaren’s Piastri bumped Gasly down to fifth from their soft and harder tyre stints.

Red Bull’s Verstappen then moved up into third place splitting the two Silver Arrows and was 0.219 seconds off Hamilton’s 1:32.157 medium tyre effort.

Russell was then on for another flyer with a personal best and two purples to jump to P1 on a 1:31.945 and 0.212 seconds clear of Hamilton – whilst the latter was also on his first tour on the softs, but the Ferrari driver suffered a moment at turn ten.

Hamilton then went on a charge, took a yellow sector one before purple middle sector and a personal best effort at sector three to reclaim P1 off his former team-mate Russell with a 1:31.915 and a slim 0.030 seconds clear on the time-sheets.

Leclerc then improved to take top spot of his Ferrari team-mate with a 1:31.729 before Albon moved to the head of the times with a 1:31.696 to go 0.033 seconds faster than the Ferrari driver.

Verstappen then scored two purple opening sectors and made an error at the final sector, but still went quickest with a 1:31.330 on the C3’s to end up 0.366 seconds faster than Verstappen’s effort.

Norris was next with two personal bests and a purple middle sector to post a 1:30.659 to go even quicker than Verstappen by 0.671 seconds.

Piastri then moved to P1 to oust his team-mate by 0.154 seconds on a 1:30.305 effort which stood as the session’s best time.

Both Mercedes of Russell and Antonelli then slotted into third and fourth respectively as Hadjar also demoted Verstappen to sixth in the order.

At the midway point of the session, all drivers were returning to the pits to prepare for their traditional race data gathering runs.

Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso then joined the fray after coming in early due to a steering wheel issue.

Hamilton then rejoined to put his Ferrari up to seventh in the classification behind Verstappen and was over a second off Piastri’s benchmark.

Leclerc then jumped from P10 to fourth in the order split the Mercedes duo.

Session topper Piastri then bolted on a set of the C1 white harder compounds to begin his hard tyre long race run meanwhile Verstappen reported that his “brakes don’t work” into the final corner where most drivers had been getting caught out and driven wide there.

Alonso then put on a set of the C3’s and the double world champion slotted into 15^th place behind Alpine’s Jack Doohan.

Piastri finished the session on top with team-mate Norris second as Russell rounded out the top three.

Leclerc followed in fourth as Antonelli was fifth in the order whilst Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar who encountered a close moment with Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg with 15 minutes of the session remaining yelling out “what’s he doing?”

Japanese GP winner Verstappen took seventh as Hamilton, Haas’s Oliver Bearman and Williams’ Carlos Sainz completed the top ten.

The other Williams FW47 entry of Alexander Albon ended the day outside the top ten in 11^th place and in-front of Racing Bulls Liam Lawson who finished FP2 in 12^th and Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto who placed 13^th in the order.

Doohan came 14^th in the classification and in-front of Alonso who was 15^th and Haas’s Esteban Ocon who took 16^th.

The other Alpine A525 entry of Pierre Gasly and Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda were a low 17^th and 18^th respectively.

Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll and Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg brought up the rear.

You can see the full Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix 2025 Free Practice 2 Results Classification at the link: https://www.formula1.com/en/results/2025/races/1257/bahrain/practice/2

#F1 #BahrainGP FP1: @LandoNorris quickest ahead of #Gasly, @LewisHamilton.

#F1 Gulf Air #BahrainGP 2025 Preview. #BahrainGrandPrix

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