Oscar Piastri went fastest in the second practice session for the 2025 Formula 1 Bahrain Grand Prix, leading team-mate Lando Norris as McLaren exhibited ominous pace.
The nighttime temperatures at the Bahrain International Circuit meant FP2 was the only representative session ahead of qualifying, and thus paints a potent picture ahead of Saturday’s crucial session.
And the worrying thing for McLaren’s rivals is that the papaya machines have a hefty margin over the rest of the field.
Piastri’s benchmark of 1:30.505s was 0.154s faster than Norris, who had a four-tenth buffer to the closest challenger, Mercedes’ George Russell.
Charles Leclerc will likely be dismayed that Ferrari floor upgrades saw him over half a second back from Piastri’s benchmark in fourth, with team-mate Lewis Hamilton half a second further back in eighth.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli rounded out the top five for Mercedes, just under two-tenths shy of his team-mate, with Isack Hadjar the fiercest charging Bull, sixth fastest on the Medium tyre in his Racing Bulls machine.
Max Verstappen was seventh for Red Bull as Yuki Tsunoda was alarmingly seven-tenths off of his team-mate in 18th.
Rounding out the top-10 were Haas’ Oliver Bearman and Williams’ Carlos Sainz.
Alex Albon was one position and eighth hundredths behind his Williams team-mate as Racing Bull’s Liam Lawson went 12th fastest.
Sauber’s Gabriel Bortoleto was 13th as Jack Doohan led the charge for Alpine in 14th
Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso had a tumultuous session, with the steering wheel on his AMR25 coming loose whilst out on track.
The Spaniard served no time early on and spent the majority of his session in the garage as Aston Martin fit a new steering column.
Alonso was released into the action with 20 minutes remaining and was able to post the 15th fastest time.
Esteban Ocon was next up for Haas in 16th ahead of ex-Alpine team-mate Pierre Gasly.
Behind Tsunoda, the field was propped up by Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll and Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg.
READ MORE – Lando Norris tops scorching hot F1 Bahrain GP opening practice
