Lewis Hamilton dominated the second practice session for the 2024 Bahrain Grand Prix, leading a Mercedes one-two. The current Formula 1 champion, Max Verstappen, struggled, finishing nearly half a second behind the leader and outside the top five once again. Temperatures in FP2 were lower compared to the first practice session, with an ambient temperature of 17°C and a track temperature of 22°C. This may have contributed to the performance difference between Mercedes and Red Bull, with Mercedes benefiting from better tire heating. Hamilton was particularly impressive, setting the fastest time in both his qualifying simulations.
Hamilton’s fastest time was 1m30.174s, giving him a two-tenths advantage over his teammate George Russell. Fernando Alonso finished in third place, 0.286s behind Hamilton. Carlos Sainz was the fastest Ferrari driver in fourth place, followed by Oscar Piastri in fifth for McLaren. Verstappen struggled in his attempts with soft tires, finishing about half a second behind the leader. However, the long-run simulations with soft tires showed more promise for him and Red Bull.
During the long runs, Sergio Perez set the fastest time, but Piastri’s performance with soft tires in the McLaren was also notable. Lando Norris, Piastri’s teammate, had a difficult session and ended up being the slowest of all, six tenths behind the leaders due to a mistake at the exit of the final corner in his qualifying simulation. Perez extended his stint with soft tires to 17 laps, four laps more than Piastri before switching to medium tires.
Nico Hulkenberg impressed with a solid seventh place for Haas, a team that focused on long runs during pre-season testing and FP1. His time of 1m30.884s was nearly nine tenths faster than his teammate Kevin Magnussen’s time. Lance Stroll finished in eighth place, just behind his teammate Alonso. Charles Leclerc, who expressed his frustration about the lack of awareness from other drivers on the team radio, finished in ninth place, with Perez from the second Red Bull completing the top 10.
