Bahrain GP FP2 Results: What Happened in Free Practice 2

The second Free Practice Session of the 2023 F1 Season has ended and it was an incredible effort from Aston Martin, Red Bull, and Ferrari.

The first Free Practice Session of the Bahrain Grand Prix was an exciting one with Perez taking the top of the timesheet with a time of 1:32.758 and Aston Martin coming second with Fernando Alonso behind the wheel. This splitting of the Milton Keynes Bulls shows a weakness in the RB19, accentuated by Helmut Marko's complaints:

"The car is driving differently and we don't know why. We need to find out what is wrong and why the car is simply not responding, which was the case during testing. It mainly plays up in the slow corners.

"I'm sure we can solve it towards the second free practice."

Standout Moments

FP2 mimics the environmental conditions of the race, so this Practice Session could be very indicative of where the teams realistically slot in on the timesheet. Because of this, it was no surprise that Lance Stroll was first to take to the track not only to make sure his Aston Martin is as optimised as possible, but also to get plenty of time behind the wheel after not attending pre-season testing and ignition issues during FP1.

First Completed Lap

Esteban Ocon was the first to simulate a qualifying session with his pink Alpine on the red, soft tyres. Unfortunately, the Frenchman didn't show great pace with a lap time of only 1:32.5. This was quickly beaten by Ferrari's Carlos Sainz who set a time of 1:31.9 also on softs.

Issues

Charles Leclerc continues his complaints about the Ferrari's clutch, but this didn't seem to affect his performance too much with him consistently putting down solid lap times.

Bit of a moment for Piastri but he avoids Stroll #BahrainGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/2mlUAaEKMa
— Formula 1 (@F1) March 3, 2023

The grid certainly heated up with several close-calls, the closest of which involving McLaren's Oscar Piastri who almost hit Lance Stroll's Aston Martin after the Canadian exited the pit lane, almost causing a large incident. Interestingly, moments ahead of this, a drag race between the Australian and AlphaTauri's Yuki Tsunoda showed us the sheer straight line speed of the Ferrari power unit compared to the Mercedes-powered McLaren.

Max Verstappen isn't happy with the RB19 as he complained about the car jumping more than it was during testing, but in comparison, the Mercedes W14 is looking very balanced on-track with Lewis Hamilton posting consistent times, albeit behind Ferrari on the timesheet.

Finally, despite fast laps from Stroll, he revealed he was having issues with his wrists that were affecting his driving.

Conclusion

Stroll put on a serious show when he took fastest lap with a time of 1:31.45, but this was quickly beaten by a host of other drivers from the likes of Ferrari, Red Bull, and - surprisingly maybe - Haas with Nico Hulkenberg behind the wheel. Finally, his teammate Alonso breaches the high 1:30s topping the timesheet.

There are a few teams that need to put in the work before tomorrow, but it looks as though Red Bull and Aston Martin are the current plot points for fans today.

Here's how to watch the next Practice Sessions.

Bahrain FP2 Results

1. Alonso, Aston Martin - 1m30.907s

2. Verstappen, Red Bull - 1m31.076s

3. Perez, Red Bull - 1m31.078s

4. Leclerc, Ferrari - 1m31.367s

5. Hulkenberg, Haas - 1m31.376s

6. Stroll, Aston Martin - 1m31.450s

7. Gasly, Alpine - 1m31.475s

8. Hamilton, Mercedes - 1m32.543s

9. Norris, McLaren - 1m31.570s

10. Zhou, Alfa Romeo - 1m31.586s