F1 Preseason Test: Hamilton tops morning times on Day 2

In a session interrupted by a rain shower, Lewis Hamilton turned a lap of 1m29.379s in his #44 Ferrari to top the morning session of the 2nd day of F1 preseason testing at the Bahrain International Circuit.

–by Mark Cipolloni–

With his Ferrari’s engine turned up in qualifying mode, Hamilton’s fast lap was 0.399s faster than the W16 Mercedes of George Russell. Mercedes obviously had a packed program to get through, as Russell completed more laps than anyone else.

Carlos Sainz Jr. was third fast for Williams, 0.711s behind Hamilton’s Ferrari.

Pierre Gasly was 4th quick for Alpine, 1.051s behind Hamilton.

Fernando Alonso rounded out the top-5 for Aston Martin, 1.321s behind Hamilton.

Liam Lawson’s Red Bull suffered a loss of engine water pressure, that confined Liam Lawson to the garage. He completed just 28 laps as the mechanics have had to take the car apart to get to the water pump.

The final five minutes of the session included a raft of tests from the FIA. First up was a Virtual Safety Car period, so the drivers can adhere to those protocols. There was also double yellow and red flag tests, as well as Formation Laps, aborted Formation Laps and practice starts.

2025 Preseason Testing Day 2 Morning Results