SAKHIR, Bahrain — Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen picked up where he left off last season, turning the fastest lap during Friday’s second practice session for Sunday’s Bahrain Grand Prix at Bahrain Int’l Circuit.
“The car felt good today, testing here last week means we’ve all started in a good place. We had quite a straightforward and smooth day so I’m pretty happy, we also tried a few things on the car in each session and they seemed to work well,” Verstappen explained. “You can see that Ferrari are pushing hard and are very close so that’s exciting. Looking ahead, we’ll have to wait and see with different teams’ engine modes, no one is in quali spec yet, so I think everyone still has a lot more to give. It’s good to see the teams are all closer together, in general that’s what everyone wants and I think over time teams will get even closer together.”
Ferrari did push hard with teammates Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz turning the second and third quickest laps during the session.
George Russell was fourth for Mercedes, with Fernando Alonso fifth for Alpine Renault.
Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton was ninth quick in his Mercedes.
