Max sixth fastest on Friday Bahrain GP: 'We've got work to do'

Published on 29 March 2019 by Stefan Meens

Max Verstappen finished the first day of the Bahrain Grand Prix weekend in sixth. Sebastian Vettel was quickest in FP2, followed by Ferrari colleague Charles Leclerc. Lewis Hamilton completed the top three in his Mercedes. Aston Martin Red Bull Racing’s Pierre Gasly, Max’ team mate, ended his day in a disappointing twelfth.

After the final Friday session Max explained: “On the soft compound, I don’t have the grip I need, but on the medium we are competitive and that is the most important tyre for the race. In terms of qualifying, we’ll need to do some work. Ferrari is very fast but we’ll try to close the gap.”

The second practice session is important as its conditions are likely to be similar to the ones on race day with the darkness having set in, the artificial lights turned on and the temperatures dropped.

When the pitlane opens, Daniel Ricciardo is first out on track in the Renault, quickly followed by the two Ferraris.

Kimi Raikkonen is the first driver to cause a yellow flag after spinning only a few turns into his lap. The Alfa Romeo sustains no damage and the Finn is on his way without issues.

Meanwhile, Max has taken to the track. His RB15 sports the medium Pirelli compound for the first time this weekend.

After the opening half an hour, the Ferraris and Mercedes lead the way, followed by Nico Hulkenberg (Renault) and Max.

In the second half of the session, most teams focus on race simulations, resulting in hardly any permutations on the leader board. The Alfa Romeos struggle to do any further running with both their cars in the garage with a water leak.

In the same corner where Raikkonen spun earlier, Sebastian loses control of his Ferrari. Like his former team mate, he can continue without issues.

In the closing stages, McLaren’s Lando Norris has a problem; his engineer informs him of ‘scenario 1’, resulting in the youngster slowing down and returning to the pits.

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Results second free practice Bahrain: