McLaren laid down an early marker at the Bahrain Grand Prix as Oscar Piastri led team-mate Lando Norris in a commanding one-two during Friday evening’s second free practice session.
Under the floodlights and with track temperatures more representative of qualifying and race conditions, Piastri clocked a fastest lap of 1m30.505s on soft tyres to finish 0.154s clear of Norris and comfortably ahead of the rest of the field.
The hour-long FP2 session saw teams dialing into more serious qualifying simulations after a largely inconsequential FP1, which was run in searing daytime heat and offered little in the way of meaningful data.
As the sun set over the desert, conditions improved considerably and the McLaren duo seized the opportunity to showcase their pace, hinting at a continuation of the form they demonstrated last weekend in Japan.
Mercedes’ George Russell briefly topped the timesheets during the early phase of the session and ultimately finished third, although his time was over half a second shy of Piastri’s benchmark.
The W216 silver arrow appeared quick in the straights but lacked the grip and balance to match McLaren through Bahrain’s more technical, high-downforce corners.
Charles Leclerc was the lead Ferrari in fourth, with rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli impressively rounding out the top five in the second Mercedes.
Isack Hadjar continued his breakthrough run with Racing Bulls, securing sixth in what is fast becoming a quietly consistent campaign for the Frenchman.
Max Verstappen, who briefly held the top spot mid-session, could only manage seventh after McLaren’s final flurry of flying laps.
Lewis Hamilton placed eighth in the second Ferrari, while Haas’s Oliver Bearman took ninth ahead of Carlos Sainz in the Williams to complete the top 10.
Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda endured a tougher time, finishing 18th, though the team’s tradition of conservative engine modes on Fridays may have masked his true pace.
Despite the low-key showing from Verstappen and Tsunoda, all eyes will be on how the world champions respond on Saturday as McLaren throws down the gauntlet heading into qualifying.
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