2024 F1 Bahrain Pre-season Test: 2024 Ferrari's Carlos Sainz Sets the Pace on Day 2

Despite a chaotic second day of Formula One winter testing in Bahrain in 2024, Carlos Sainz drove Ferrari to the lead. Using the red-marked C4 tyre, Sainz had an outstanding performance on the second day of preseason testing, becoming the first driver to break into the 1m29s. The C4 tyre was chosen by just three drivers on this particular day, and Sainz's outstanding time of 1 minute, 29.921 seconds was unbeatable.

Red Bull's reigning champion Max Verstappen did not get to drive on the second day since his afternoon appearance was postponed so Sergio Perez could get additional laps in. A red flag caused Perez to lose more than an hour of running time in the morning session, which was already disrupted.

A loose drain cover damaged Charles Leclerc's Ferrari, shortening the morning session. To make up for it, the afternoon practice was extended. Even though Sainz had a large lead in the standings, the race for second place was very close. Lando Norris, who ran alongside Sainz, lost 1.3 seconds at the session's end. After getting their fastest times in the last two hours of testing, Sergio Perez and Lewis Hamilton showed that they were serious challengers for second place.

2024 F1 2024 Bahrain Test: Day 2 Pre-season Result

Although he was only 0.7 seconds behind the leader, Perez demonstrated his mastery in the stunning RB20. Although he was 1.1 seconds slower than Sainz, Hamilton displayed a well-connected lap in the W15. Despite having his time stamped earlier in the day than Hamilton and Perez, Norris still managed to secure fourth place. After matching Sainz's best performance on the C4 tyre, Ricciardo finished sixth in the RB. Leclerc set a new personal best in the morning session before suffering damage. He finished sixth.

The second day of testing concluded with Stroll, Ocon, Bottas, and Piastri rounding out the top ten. With an impressive 117 laps, Williams' Sargeant earned the eleventh-best time.

Due to time constraints, Alonso of Aston Martin, Zhou Guanyu of Sauber, and Gasly of Alpine all managed to finish less than 40 laps in the morning session, but they all still factored into the final results.

Among the seventeen drivers, Haas teammates Magnussen and Hulkenberg stayed at the bottom, while RB's Tsunoda set the slowest time. There were no major incidents during the afternoon session, in contrast to the morning. However, race control did temporarily stop towards the conclusion of conducting planned system checks.

Friday marks the last day of pre-season testing before the 2024 season begins the following week at the same location.