It was two strong days for Mercedes power as McLaren and Kevin Magnussen stormed to the top of the time sheets with Nico Hulkenberg also going strong in Formula One’s Bahrain test.
Using Pirelli’s super-soft tyres Magnussen went 1.5 seconds faster towards the end of the day setting a time of 1:34.910 to shut out the Sahara Force India which set a time of 1:36.445.
Both cars did an average amount of laps, 46 and 59 respectively, but both did have trouble free running as did Fernando Alonso whose Ferrari was a tenth behind the Force India but set almost 100 laps during a very productive test for the Scuderia.
One team that made the most of the day’s action following very troubled running on the first day of the F1 test was Valtteri Bottas in the Williams-Mercedes. Having suffered from a fuel leak yesterday, the team completed 116 laps to set a time fifth fastest overall, 2.4 seconds back from the McLaren.
That positivity was similarly picked up by Red Bull who completed 59 laps today – more than the previous five days of testing combined – as it appears the Milton Keynes squad have a handle on their troublesome car. However, they could only set a time good enough for seventh – they were running sixth before Kamui Kobayashi in the Caterham relegated the team down a place.
Before getting a positivity overload it is worth noting that both Lotus and Marussia couldn’t even complete 20 laps each. The E22 suffered a variety of issues while Max Chilton in the Marussia suffered from fuel system issues to add to the IT system issues the day before.
