Sainz set the pace at Bahrain International Circuit in the second of three days of testing, ahead of Red Bull’s Sergio Perez and Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes.
The afternoon session was pulled forward by an hour, which meant ran for five hours rather than four, after two hours were lost in the morning when Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc dislodged a drain cover on the run to Turn 11.
The debris was struck by both the Ferrari driver and Hamilton, causing a red flag.
2024 Bahrain F1 test, Day 2 results:
What happened in Bahrain F1 testing, Day 2?
Running the C4 tyre in the Pirelli range, which won’t be available in next weekend’s season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix, Sainz lapped in 1m29.921s, compared to Max Verstappen’s 1m31.344s from yesterday on the harder C3 compound – which will be the designated soft tyre next weekend.
Sainz’s best time was 0.758s clear of Perez, who set his best time in the final 20 minutes of the session, with Hamilton a further four tenths behind – the latter pair setting their fastest laps like the majority on the C3 tyre.
McLaren’s Lando Norris was fourth quickest, the top four all beating Verstappen’s Wednesday time, from Daniel Ricciardo’s RB (set on the C4).
Leclerc’s time from the morning stood as the sixth fastest time of the day, ahead of Lance Stroll (Aston Martin), Esteban Ocon (Alpine) and Valtteri Bottas (Sauber).
Despite encountering technical problems in both sessions, that cost Red Bull some valuable track time, Perez logged the most laps at 129.
What happened in Bahrain F1 testing’s Day 2 morning session?
Leclerc topped the morning session with a lap of 1m31.750s, over half a tenth ahead of Oscar Piastri (McLaren) and Logan Sargeant’s Williams.
After Leclerc hit the drain cover, red flags were quickly shown after two hours and 22 minutes of running and, following a delay of 40 minutes, it was announced that the session would not be resumed.
This was particularly bad news for Perez, who had completed the fewest laps of any driver (20) following an earlier brake problem which had already confined him to the garage for over half an hour.
2024 Bahrain F1 test, Day 2 morning session results:
| Pos | Driver | Team | Time | Gap | Laps | Tyres |
| 1 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:31.750 | 36 | C3 | |
| 2 | Oscar Piastri | Mclaren | 1:32.328 | +0.578s | 35 | C3 |
| 3 | Logan Sargeant | Williams | 1:32.578 | +0.828s | 30 | C3 |
| 4 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull Racing | 1:32.879 | +1.129s | 20 | C3 |
| 5 | Fernando Alonso |
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