Mercedes raise F1 testing benchmark as Aston Martin woes worsen

Mercedes raised the benchmark on the opening day of the second test in Bahrain after George Russell went quickest.

The Briton set a 1:33.459 lap — the fastest seen at the Bahrain International Circuit — two tenths quicker than anything recorded during last week’s three days of running.

Russell drove for Mercedes in the afternoon session, while Kimi Antonelli’s best lap from the morning was seven tenths adrift of his team-mate.

For Mercedes, it marked another strong day — something that could not be said for Aston Martin. After losing significant time in the morning with Fernando Alonso, further issues saw Lance Stroll lose considerable time in the afternoon.

An issue saw Stroll become the first driver to spin into a gravel trap since the introduction of the new power-unit regulations, in an incident at Turn 11 that led to a red flag.

Oscar Piastri went just 0.010s slower than Russell in the afternoon, with Lando Norris’s best effort in the morning putting him six tenths adrift. In addition to the impressive lap times, McLaren completed 124 laps.

In terms of the driver with the most laps completed, that honour went to Russell, who managed a strong 76 laps.

Isack Hadjar was the only driver running for the entirety of Wednesday, but a power-unit issue cost him almost two hours in the morning. As a result, he completed just 66 laps across the day.

However, Aston Martin were comfortably at the bottom when it came to laps completed per team, with just 54 recorded between Alonso and Stroll.

Charles Leclerc set the pace in the morning, with his effort dropping him to third by the end of the day.

The Monegasque was replaced by Lewis Hamilton in the afternoon, who was another driver to lose substantial time due to an issue.

Interestingly, the day ended with a new start procedure being tested, which saw all drivers stationary for five seconds before the red lights came on.