Max Verstappen’s first day of the 2021 season couldn’t have been much better, with the Red Bull driver leading Free Practice 2 for the Bahrain Grand Prix to complete a clean sweep of the fastest times on Friday with Lando McLaren’s Norris overtaking Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes to P2.
Verstappen comfortably overcame Mercedes ‘Valtteri Bottas’ FP1, the Dutchman looking extremely at ease in the Red Bull RB16B, and he kept his shape going into the most representative night session under Bahrain’s spotlight, registering a fastest time of 1m 30.847s in the 60 one-minute FP2 session – below 90 minutes last year – to claim your second P1 of the day
FP1: Verstappen fastest in first Bahrain training session with the 2021 season starting
Perhaps as impressive as the return of Verstappen was the effort of Norris, who followed his P3 in FP1 with P2 in the night session, the Briton running just 0.095s behind Verstappen’s pace on the new McLaren MCL35M with Mercedes engine.
Hamilton finished in P3, Mercedes for the second time today unable to stay two tenths of the Verstappen Red Bull, as the seven-time champion finished 0.235s behind and 0.045s ahead of new Ferrari boy Carlos Sainz, who put an impressive lap of qualification simulation of 1m 31,127s in SF21.
|
1 Max. Verstappen TO SEE Red Bull Racing |
1: 30,847 |
|
two Lando Norris NOR McLaren |
+ 0.095s |
|
3 Lewis Hamilton HAM Mercedes |
+ 0.235s |
|
4 Carlos Sainz LEAVES Ferrari |
+ 0.280s |
|
5 Valtteri Bottas robot Mercedes |
+ 0.371s |
Bottas was fifth with Mercedes ahead of Daniel Ricciardo’s second McLaren – another driver with a new team this weekend – while rookie Yuki Tsunoda took a good lap to take P7, two places ahead of teammate Pierre Gasly, with Aston Martin of Lance Stroll among them – Tsunoda continuing to create a lot of buzz before his F1 debut.
READ MORE: McLaren invading the ‘unrealistic’ Mercedes-Red Bull fight in 2021, says Brown
Sergio Perez in the second Red Bull was 10th, apparently with more coming from the Mexican, while Esteban Ocon posted the fastest lap for the new Alpine equipment – the Frenchman recovering from a turn 1 outside the starting doors to take P11, 0.754s out of the leadership rhythm.
Charles Leclerc was 12th in the second Ferrari, ahead of Antonio Giovinazzi’s Alfa Romeo, with P14 won by Sebastian Vettel in the second Aston Martin – the four-time German champion still didn’t seem entirely at ease in his new AMR21 – while there was another multiple champion in P15, that is, the return Fernando Alonso.
2021 Bahrain GP FP2: Räikkönen collides with barriers
Sixteenth was Kimi Raikkonen’s Alfa Romeo, the Finn the first driver in the pack to finish more than 1s behind Verstappen, and having caused the main drama in the session when he spun out of Turn 2, crushing his Alfa Romeo C41 at the barriers and sweeping the front wing.
From Raikkonen, there was then a four-tenth gulf for the next fastest car, George Russell’s Williams – with Russell predicting that his team would fight in the stormy conditions forecast for Bahrain this weekend.
READ MORE: Wolff says ‘best scenario’ for Mercedes in Bahrain is to keep pace with Red Bull
Haas’ Mick Schumacher was in P18 and almost a second behind Russell at the end of his first Friday as a full-fledged F1 driver, beating Nicholas Latifi’s second Williams and Schumacher’s teammate Nikita Mazepin – who he ran alongside Curve 6 early in the session, complaining of balance problems in his VF-21.
So, after our first truly representative race in 2021, it’s Red Bull and Max Verstappen with the initial advantage. But Mercedes can fight back – and is McLaren on the hunt this season? We’ll find out over the weekend.