The second day of the final three-day test in Bahrain brought faster laps and another busy schedule for most teams. As track conditions improved, the benchmark time dropped into the 1m32s, underlining the steady progress being made ahead of the new season.

Kimi Antonelli was the quickest driver of the day. The Italian took over the Mercedes in the afternoon after George Russell had completed the morning session, with the Silver Arrows racking up more than 150 laps in total. Antonelli’s best effort of 1:32.803 secured P1, just 0.058s clear of Oscar Piastri.

McLaren continued to look competitive, with Piastri the only other driver to break into the 1m32s. Max Verstappen posted a 1:33.162, but the Red Bull driver completed an impressive 139 laps across the full day, focusing heavily on long runs and data gathering.

Lewis Hamilton spent the entire day in the Ferrari, marking his final test outing before Melbourne. Although his morning running was limited, he returned in the afternoon to build his mileage to over 75 laps. His late improvement placed him fourth on the timesheets. Lando Norris completed the top five with his best lap set during the morning session.

As on previous days, the session concluded with practice starts on the main straight, giving drivers one final opportunity to rehearse launch procedures under race-style conditions.

Results: Bahrain test day 2

1. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) – 1:32.803
2. Oscar Piastri (McLaren) – +0.058
3. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) – +0.359
4. Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) – +0.605
5. Lando Norris (McLaren) – +0.650
6. Franco Colapinto (Alpine) – +1.015
7. Nico Hülkenberg (Audi) – +1.184
8. George Russell (Mercedes) – +1.308
9. Esteban Ocon (Haas) – +1.398
10. Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) – +1.729
11. Alexander Albon (Williams) – +1.752
12. Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi) – +2.460
13. Oliver Bearman (Haas) – +2.476
14. Sergio Pérez (Cadillac) – +2.566
15. Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) – +4.669
16. Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac) – +7.390