F1 testing LIVE: Piastri involved in bizarre collision, Hamilton fastest as unlikely issue cruels day two

Lewis Hamilton heads the time sheet at the halfway mark of day 2 of Formula 1 preseason testing after teams lost around an hour to rain in Bahrain.

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The desert circuit was engulfed in a persistent light drizzle through the opening hours of the session, with the rain intensifying just enough to force all drivers back to their garages to wait out the weather.

Only Aston Martin and Haas elected to bring any wet-weather tyres, though there was only a very brief window during which the circuit was wet enough to use even the intermediate compound.

Haas made the most of its chance, sending Esteban Ocon out to sample the conditions for a few laps before recalling him to bide its time with the rest of the field.

With the ambient temperature struggling to just 15°C through the four-hour session, it took the best part of an hour for conditions to improve enough to send the drivers back out on slicks.

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The track eventually dried enough for times to start tumbling, particularly with the softer compound tyres, at which point Lewis Hamilton rocketed to top spot with a best lap of 1 minutes 29.379 seconds.

George Russell was next best, the Mercedes driver 0.399 seconds off the pace, but Hamilton’s former teammate racked up a mammoth 71 laps during the four hours.

Carlos Sainz was third for Williams and 0.711 seconds down on top spot, but the Spaniard spent most of the session conducting a race simulation as one of the few drivers to use the hard tyre.

The double-stinting Sainz was particularly eager to get back on track after the rain given today is his last day in the car before the Australian Grand Prix, with teammate Alex Albon taking the wheel for the entire final day of the test.

DAY 2 LIVE

Pierre Gasly was fourth ahead of Fernando Alonso, who accumulated a respectable 45 laps after yesterday’s meagre running, and Yuki Tsunoda for Racing Bulls.

Oscar Piastri was another glad for the rain to fade away. McLaren had taken a slow-going approach to the start of the session, and the Australian was without a time after just seven laps when the rain arrived. He ended seventh and 1.4 seconds off the pace after surviving a clumsy tangle with Nico Hülkenberg at turn 8.

Hülkenberg was traveling slowly on the racing line when Piastri turned up behind him at racing speed. Put off by the slow-moving Sauber, Piastri ran wide, and the two cars made light contact when Hülkenberg turned into the corner.

Neither car sustained damage, though both drivers returned to pit lane for checks.

Liam Lawson’s session ended in the garage, with Red Bull Racing throwing up the barriers with almost an hour still to run before the break with an undisclosed issue.

Teams are allowed to cover up their garages when the floor is off their car — the floor is the most secretive part of the car and the most crucial part to aerodynamic performance — but it’s unclear whether RBR was making extensive set-up changes or was suffering a technical problem.

Lawson is scheduled to run for the entire day before handing the car to Max Verstappen for the entire final day of the test.

Nico Hülkenberg was ninth in the order for Sauber ahead of Esteban Ocon, whose Haas team again focused on long running with high fuel rather that qualifying-style laps.

Testing times, day 2, hour 4

1. Ferrari (Hamilton): 1:29.379

2. Mercedes (Russell): 1:29.778

3. Williams (Sainz): 1:30.090

4. Alpine (Gasly): 1:30.430

5. Aston Martin (Alonso): 1:30.700

6. Racing Bulls (Tsunoda): 1:30.793

7. McLaren (Piastri): 1:30.821

8. Red Bull Racing (Lawson): 1:31.233

9. Sauber (Hulkenberg): 1:31.457

10. Haas (Ocon): 1:33.071

Testing laps, day 2, hour 4

1. Mercedes (Russell): 71 laps

2. Haas (Ocon): 69 laps

3. Sauber (Hulkenberg): 56 laps

4. Racing Bulls (Tsunoda): 46 laps

5. Ferrari (Hamilton): 45 laps

6. Aston Martin (Alonso): 45 laps

7. McLaren (Piastri): 44 laps

8. Williams (Sainz): 44 laps

9. Alpine (Gasly): 40 laps

10. Red Bull Racing (Lawson): 28 laps