Piastri Leads McLaren Domination in Bahrain as Ferrari’s Bold Upgrades Backfire
Oscar Piastri stole the spotlight in second practice at the Bahrain Grand Prix, leading a commanding McLaren one-two ahead of teammate Lando Norris. The Australian delivered an impressive lap to finish 0.154s clear of Norris, as McLaren asserted themselves as the team to beat heading into qualifying.
Behind the McLaren duo, George Russell took third for Mercedes but was over three-tenths off Piastri’s leading pace. Ferrari, despite bringing a significant upgrade package—including a new floor—were left chasing shadows. Charles Leclerc was fourth, but more than half a second adrift of the top spot, while teammate Lewis Hamilton, still adjusting to his newly upgraded Ferrari, could only manage eighth after a scrappy lap left him over a second off the pace.
Although Ferrari showed early promise in the cooler, more representative evening session, it was McLaren who found the most performance during qualifying simulations. Their superior pace in FP2 underscored growing concerns for rivals, with Sky Sports F1’s Naomi Schiff noting: “McLaren are looking really comfortable and the others look like they still have work to do ahead of qualifying. It really does feel like Oscar has taken a step up this season. Lando is looking like he has a tough contender up against him.”
Elsewhere, 17-year-old Kimi Antonelli bounced back from a frustrating first practice—where he was sidelined by an overheated engine—to finish an impressive fifth. Isack Hadjar also continued his strong run, clocking the sixth-fastest time on medium tyres while most of the field ran on the softer compound.
A bizarre incident saw Fernando Alonso’s steering wheel come loose as he made his way toward the final corner. The Aston Martin veteran managed to reattach the wheel mid-run and returned to the pits, where his team quickly addressed the issue.
As McLaren surge forward and Ferrari falter, all eyes will be on Saturday’s qualifying session to see if the rest of the grid can close the gap or if McLaren will carry their dominance into race day.
