Oscar Piastri led Lando Norris in a McLaren one-two while Lewis Hamilton was only eighth in his upgraded Ferrari in second practice at the Bahrain Grand Prix.
Piastri beat Norris by 0.154s, then there was over three tenths to George Russell in third as McLaren underlined their status as the car to beat this weekend.
Ferrari have brought a sizeable upgrade package to Bahrain, including a new floor, but it does not seem to have enabled them to get closer to McLaren.
Charles Leclerc was fourth but 0.540s adrift of Piastri, with Hamilton 1.071s off the leading pace after a scruffy lap.
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Watch the bizarre moment Fernando Alonso’s steering wheel suddenly comes off in practice two at the Bahrain Grand Prix
Ferrari had shown strong pace during the early stages of second practice, which is the most representative session before qualifying on Saturday, as it was held at night in cooler conditions, but McLaren showed their true pace when the teams conducted their qualifying simulations.
“I don’t think there’s a huge surprise there, but the gaps are looking really, really big,” said Sky Sports F1‘s Naomi Schiff.
“McLaren are looking really comfortable and the others look like they still have work to do ahead of qualifying.
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Sky Sports’ Martin Brundle, Naomi Schiff and Simon Lazenby discuss if Max Verstappen would dominate if he was driving a McLaren
“It really does feel like Oscar has taken a step up this season. Lando is looking like he has a tough contender up against him.”
Kimi Antonelli, who missed nearly all of first practice due to an overheated engine, was fifth and Racing Bull’s Isack Hadjar also continued to impress in sixth on the medium tyres compared to everyone else on the softs.
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Mercedes were forced to use ‘old-school F1’ techniques to separate Kimi Antonelli’s gearbox and engine during FP1 of the Bahrain Grand Prix
Reigning world champion Max Verstappen complained about brake issues throughout the session, where he finished seventh and was 0.825s behind Piastri.
His Red Bull team-mate Yuki Tsunoda was only 18th, so will hope to find time overnight or face a big challenge to get out of Q1. Tsunoda was reprimanded prior to second practice for overtaking Alex Albon in the pit lane in the earlier session.
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Yuki Tsunoda overtook Alex Albon in the pit lane in first practice
Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso had an unusual moment when his steering wheel came off as he trundled down to the last corner.
Alonso got the steering wheel back on and was able to return to the pit lane, where his crew quickly fixed the steering-column issue.
Hamilton: Upgrades definitely working | Leclerc: McLaren on another planet
Outside of a Sprint win in China, it has been a disappointing start for Hamilton at Ferrari, with just seven points from Sundays in 2025.
Ferrari have been unable to run the car as low to the ground as they want for better performance due to the risk of being disqualified for excessive skid block wear underneath the car.
Their reprofiled floor, though, was a positive step according to Hamilton, despite only being eighth quickest.
“The upgrades are definitely working,” he said. “A big thank you to everyone back home for working so hard on bringing the upgrades because it’s never an easy thing.
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Following FP1 and FP2 at the Bahrain Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton says the Ferrari upgrades are ‘definitely working’ and thanked the engineers back at home
“It’s a lot of work that goes on in the wind tunnel and in fabricating and putting together these floors.
“It’s just good to see we are taking steps forward. We are trying to now extract more from it. I hope that we can make the right steps overnight.”
As was the case in Suzuka, Leclerc finished second practice half a second clear of Hamilton and reiterated he is pushing “into a direction” that allows him to “extract more from the car”, but does not think it will be enough to get near McLaren.
“The potential of the car remains the same and we’re just not fast enough. When we look at the McLaren, they are just on another planet for now,” he added.
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Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris share contrasting opinions on their performances in Practice One and Two of the Bahrain Grand Prix
“It’s annoying but it’s the way it is, and it actually motivates me to try and close that gap as soon as possible, but they are incredibly fast.
“We’ve got to maximise the car potential we’ve got for now. If that means finishing fourth, third, fifth – I don’t know what that will be – we’ll have to take it and I hope that at one point we’ll be back at being the fastest car on track.
“Then it will be a matter of maximising the car again, but for wins and not P3 anymore.”
Sky Sports F1’s Bahrain GP Schedule
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Sky Sports F1’s Martin Brundle breaks down the best chances of winning the Bahrain Grand Prix
Saturday April 12
- 11.10am: F3 Sprint Race
- 1.15pm: Bahrain GP Practice Three (session starts at 1.30pm)
- 3.10pm: F2 Sprint
- 4.10pm: Bahrain GP Qualifying build-up
- 5pm: BAHRAIN GP QUALIFYING
- 7pm: Ted’s Qualifying Notebook
Sunday April 13
- 10.50am: F3 Feature Race
- 12.20pm: F2 Feature Race
- 2.30pm: Bahrain GP build-up: Grand Prix Sunday
- 4pm: THE BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX
- 6pm: Bahrain GP reaction: Chequered Flag
- 7pm: Ted’s Notebook
Formula 1 continues its triple-header in Sakhir at the Bahrain Grand Prix this weekend, live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports with NOW – No contract, cancel anytime
