'This was horrendous' - Lando Norris voices worry after Bahrain practice

Lando Norris has stated tyre degradation in Bahrain is “horrendous” following the opening two practice sessions of the weekend.

Norris ended FP2 in second place as he trailed team-mate Oscar Piastri by over one-tenth of a second.

The track surface in Bahrain is notorious for being one of the most abrasive the drivers face all year, with the severity augmented on Friday due to the sweltering conditions present in the Gulf state.

Although teams have fresh data from the Bahrain International Circuit after carrying out pre-season testing at the venue in February, Norris outlined the track circumstances are much more extreme this time around.

“This was horrendous,” Norris said. “It was a difficult day, just re-adapting back to the reality of Bahrain, the difficulties of Bahrain.

“It [could] make it tough or make it exciting on Sunday. The degradation is incredible compared to the test.

“It was a weird day because everything feels dreadful, but I think our pace was in a reasonable place.

“So I think a reasonable Friday [overall].”

Piastri positive after fastest lap effort

On the other side of the McLaren garage, Piastri enjoyed a strong day as he set the fastest lap time of the day ahead of Saturday's action.

While he struggled for grip in the opening session, the Australian was left content with the changes carried out as he targets his second race win of the season this weekend and eat into the championship lead held by team-mate Norris.

“I'm pretty happy, to be honest,” Piastri said. “The car felt like it was in a good place, FP1 was a very different story.

“I'm glad that everything came together a bit more. The one-lap pace looked strong and the longer runs looked reasonable as well. 

“So I'm pretty happy with that, obviously [there are] still some things that we want to try and work on to make it nicer. But all in all, a good day.”