F1 testing: Esteban Ocon fastest on Day 2's first session, Charles Leclerc impresses again and Max Verstappen third

Published 11/03/2022 at 11:47 GMT

Max Verstappen put in an impressive display in the first session on the second day of testing on Friday in Bahrain ahead of next weekend's season-opening Grand Prix. Charles Leclerc impressed again as he was the second fastest, with the quickest rider in action Esteban Ocon, for the Alpine Formula One team.

Esteban Ocon

Image credit: Getty Images

Alpine’s Esteban Ocon set the fastest time in the first session of testing on Day 2 in Bahrain.

Friday saw the teams back in action with a full complement after US team Haas were ready to take part in the full day’s testing, and would also be afforded four more hours to test over the remaining two days after finally receiving all the equipment their team needed.

In the first session, Mick Schumacher got out for Haas and on hard tires was a full three and a half seconds behind Ocon’s time of 1:34.276.

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In behind him by just nine-hundredths of a second was Monegasque rider Charles Leclerc, who was one of the strongest performers on Thursday.

A much-improved driver was current champion, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, who was the third fastest.

George Russell, Lewis Hamilton’s team-mate, was again given a chance to test the new sidepods and came in ninth, ahead of Nicholas Latifi, who suffered an early problem as his brakes caught fire and he spun out early.

Latifi was not the only driver experiencing technical difficulties, which is perhaps to be expected so early in the season's preparations.

Valtteri Bottas, in his first season in at Alfa Romeo, suffered a malfunction in the late formation lap, and Sebastian Vettel also had his runout brought to a premature end with a fault.

The second session will be a chance for teams to further test their designs and perhaps give other drivers in their stable a chance, including Lewis Hamilton.

Day 2, first session

Esteban Ocon (Alpine) 1:34.276, 59 laps
Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +0.09, 54 laps
Max Verstappen (Red Bull) +1.598, 45 laps
Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin) +1.744, 46 laps
Lando Norris (McLaren) +2.078, 29 laps
Yuki Tsunoda (Alpha Tauri) +2.526, 44 laps
Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo) +2.711, 25 laps
Mick Schumacher (Haas) +3.57, hards, 23 laps
George Russell (Mercedes) +4.309, hards, 67 laps
Nicholas Latifi (Williams) +5.569, 12 laps

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