F1 2021 Pre-Season Testing: Day 2 Statistics

Mercedes returned to the top of the timesheet as F1 testing continued in Bahrain. Here are the stories and statistics from day two of pre-season testing!

Saturday in Bahrain saw the teams completing plenty of laps, with over 200 tours completed before the halfway point of the morning session. Sebastian Vettel was able to complete only ten laps, with gearbox issues meaning he was stuck in the garage for most of the morning. While Vettel was the only driver to miss time on track, other drivers struggled in the windy conditions. Carlos Sainz ventured off the circuit before spinning, while Nicholas Latifi wrecked a set of tyres with a spin. Latifi spun again later in the day, this time at Turn 1.

There were two red flag periods in the morning session. While one was part of an FIA test, carried out at the end of the session, the other was for Lewis Hamilton. The Mercedes driver spun and became beached in the gravel two hours into the day. Mercedes had a better day than yesterday, with the reigning champions completing over 100 laps. For a second day in a row, Daniel Ricciardo was fastest in the morning session. On the C4 compound, the McLaren driver lapped with a time of 1:32.215 – twelve thousandths slower than his best lap on Friday, set on the harder C2 compound.

Lando Norris took over the McLaren for the final four hours of the day, lapping one second faster than his team-mate on the same C4 compounds. Norris had a slow start to the session, completing over a dozen laps and each time pulling into the pits at the end of his tour.

The red flags were called out as Sergio Perez’s engine cover spectacularly blew off. On the main straight, the Red Bull driver pulled out of Nicholas Latifi’s slipstream, with the change in pressure resulting in the rear bodywork flying off the car. After the debris was cleared, a flurry of fast lap times were posted. Antonio Giovinazzi and Pierre Gasly each took a turn at the top of the table, before Norris returned to the top with the fastest lap seen so far in testing. That was then beaten by Gasly, on C5 tyres before Bottas moved Mercedes to the head of the timesheet for the first time in 2021. 

BEST LAP TIMES

DAY 2 LAPS COMPLETE

COMBINED DAYS 1 + 2 LAPS COMPLETE

Laps	Driver
193	Antonio Giovinazzi
161	Pierre Gasly
146	Nikita Mazepin
139	Max Verstappen
132	Charles Leclerc
132	Nicholas Latifi
129	Esteban Ocon
128	Fernando Alonso
117	Sergio Perez
117	Lance Stroll
113	Carlos Sainz
103	Mick Schumacher
100	Lewis Hamilton
98	Lando Norris
97	Daniel Ricciardo
94	Yuki Tsunoda
83	Roy Nissany
64	Valtteri Bottas
63	Kimi Raikkonen
61	Sebastian Vettel
0	George Russell

Laps	Team
257	Alpine
256	Red Bull
256	Alfa Romeo
255	AlphaTauri
249	Haas
245	Ferrari
215	Williams
195	McLaren
178	Aston Martin
164	Mercedes

Testing concludes at Bahrain International Circuit tomorrow. Follow @LightsOutF1Blog on Twitter for live updates throughout the day.