Bahrain Grand Prix - Friday Practice Recap
March 29, 2019
Event: Free Practice 1 and Free Practice 2 for the Bahrain Grand Prix (Round 2 of 21)
Date: Friday, March 29
Location: Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir
Layout: 5.412-kilometer (3.363-mile), 15-turn track
FP1 Weather: Clear and sunny
FP2 Weather: Clear
Drivers: Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen
FP1 Rundown:
Magnussen: 12th overall (1:32.602), 21 laps completed
Grosjean: 17th overall (1:32.994), 22 laps completed
Fastest Driver: Charles Leclerc of Scuderia Ferrari (1:30.354)
Most Laps: Lando Norris of McLaren (29 laps)
FP2 Rundown:
Magnussen: 7th overall (1:30.000), 33 laps completed
Grosjean: 9th overall (1:30.068), 34 laps completed
Fastest Driver: Sebastian Vettel of Scuderia Ferrari (1:28.846)
Most Laps: Robert Kubica of Williams (37 laps)
Recap:
The second round of the 2019 FIA Formula One World Championship began with practice Friday at Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir as teams prepared for the Bahrain Grand Prix Sunday.
Two 90-minute sessions – FP1 and FP2 – on the 5.412-kilometer (3.363-mile), 15-turn track were on the docket, the first of which was run under a clear and sunny sky while the latter was the more representative session for what Rich Energy Haas F1 Team drivers Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen and their counterparts will experience in Sunday’s race, which begins shortly after sunset.
Both Grosjean and Magnussen began FP1 on the Pirelli P Zero Yellow medium tire before transitioning to the Red soft tire. Magnussen’s quick time of 1:32.602 came on his 12th lap shod on softs. He ran 21 laps and was the 12th-fastest driver. Grosjean’s best time was a 1:32.994, also on his 12th lap, also on softs. He ran 22 laps and posted the 17th-quickest time.
Leading the way in FP1 was Scuderia Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc, whose fast lap of 1:30.354 was .263 of a second better than the next quickest driver, his teammate Sebastian Vettel.
Speeds picked up and lap times dropped in FP2. Magnussen wrapped FP2 as the seventh-quickest driver with a time of 1:30.000, which was 2.60 seconds better than his best lap in FP1. His quick time came on the 10th of his 33 laps on a set of soft tires. Grosjean shaved 2.92 seconds off his FP1 time with a lap of 1:30.068 to jump to ninth fastest. His fast lap came on his 12th tour, also while utilizing the soft tire. He completed 34 laps.
Vettel leapfrogged Leclerc to top the FP2 timesheet with a mark of 1:28.846, which was .035 of a second better than his Scuderia Ferrari teammate. The Bahrain track record of 1:27.958, set last year by Vettel in the final round of knockout qualifying, remained intact.
Between the two sessions, Haas F1 Team ran a total of 110 laps – 56 by Grosjean and 54 by Magnussen.
Romain Grosjean:
“We’ve done some good work today, and there’s more to be done before tomorrow. It was interesting to drive the car on a very hot track in FP1, then later in more representative conditions in FP2. We’re still learning about the VF-19, so I’m pretty happy to see how it performs. I’d like a bit more rear grip, especially on the long runs, that’s an area I think we can do a bit better, I’m confident we’ll find it. I think we’ve got some good margins to improve the car though, and that’s always a good thing before qualifying. We’ll be in the mix.”
Kevin Magnussen:
“I’m reasonably happy with our day. It was good to get FP2 in the darker, cooler conditions. FP1, well, it wasn’t scary, but it was very tricky with the hotter temperatures. It made the tires tricky, and the car was not behaving well, but it was the same for everyone. It was good to get into it in FP2, we got to see how the car acted in the conditions that we’ll have in qualifying tomorrow. I was happier in those conditions than in the earlier session, so that’s a positive. The car was behaving much better.”
Guenther Steiner:
“It was quite an interesting day. FP1 seemed to be difficult, the conditions are so different here between the two sessions on Friday, with FP2 being similar to what we’ll face in qualifying tomorrow. We weren’t where we wanted to be in FP1, but we stayed calm as we knew the conditions would change later. We did a good job in FP2. I think tomorrow will be the same thing, we need to stay calm in FP3, then work with what we found out in FP2 for qualifying. Overall, not a bad day.”
ENDS