Mercedes stand-in George Russell unexpectedly heads the field in Sakhir GP FP1

The FIA Formula 1 World Championship has officially pitched it’s tents at the third all new track layout of the year for the long-awaited Sakhir Grand Prix– the second of two races in the Bahrain desert- and after an hour and a half of practice running it was Lewis Hamilton’s stand-in George Russell who put in a prodigious performance to top the timesheets.

Unlike the previous single-track double-headers at Silverstone and the Red Bull Ring this year, this second race is using a new track layout, and the twenty cars have been zooming around the relatively unknown almost-oval outer circuit where lap-times achieved low fifties- the shortest times F1 has ever seen.

Pirelli’s tyre choices for this weekend are the same as they were last time out: The C2, C3, and C4 compounds, but strategies may vary due to the unknowns of the shorter track. This race also marks three exciting unplanned driver changes. Brazilian Pietro Fittipaldi is filling in for Romain Grosjean at Haas F1 Team after his horror crash at the first Bahrain race saw him hospitalised, whilst George Russell is taking to the coveted Mercedes W11 as Lewis Hamilton remains in COVID-19 isolation. The Briton is being replaced by Formula 2 race-winner Jack Aitken at Williams Racing.

As the sun began to set over the Bahraini desert, The session began at 13:30 GMT and Antonio Giovinazzi was the head of a train of cars out the garage to test the limits of the twilight Sakhir circuit. Just a few minutes in a brief VSC was deployed, but all was quickly rectified and shortly after we got out first onboard glimpse of the lightning-fast lap with Carlos Sainz Jr.

George Russell was another out the pits early on with his sights set firmly on getting acclimatised with the all-new track, and the Mercedes stand-in referenced ‘a lot of sand’ blowing through turn six. Seeing as the track is located in the middle of the Arabian desert, a dusty surface is to be expected.

The light soon faded, and around half an hour in Charles Leclerc made the first trip across the gravel after losing the rear in turn four. The Scuderia Ferrari driver was unharmed, and so he went on his way unfazed. The Monegasque finished the session tenth, marking a tricky start to his weekend.

A second incident came soon after, as Pierre Gasly was left awkwardly hanging on to his right wing-mirror for half a lap after it unexpectedly snapped through the bumpy sector two. The Frenchman boxed to repair the issue, and the relatively easy fix ensured his running wasn’t compromised too heavily. Gasly, who won his first race earlier this year, ended up sixth.

Jack Aitken also had a moment on his debut as he dropped it into the gravel at turn three- most likely due to a lack of traction. He seemed to be having a hard time wrestling his Williams around the circuit to start, but he quickly began to make progress He ultimately ended up with twentieth for a rookie- a fairly representative finish for a rookie.

Interestingly, a number of drivers appeared to struggle with the undulation changes present through the second part of the lap- especially turns six and seven. Sergio Pérez’s trip through was one of the most significant, as the Mexican flat-spotted his tyres following a mighty lockup.

Staying true to his unfortunate practice woes, Alexander Albon took a trip off the beaten track at turn three and royally destroyed his red-marked soft tyres after a violent spin saw him narrowly escape the clutches of the barriers. He returned to the pits the same lap-citing ‘pretty poor vibrations’, and boxed for fresh rubber. Valtteri Bottas was another who struggled to preserve his tyres; the Finn locked his front left on a multitude of occasions- no doubt worrying him on a weekend where he needs to demonstrate his aptitude.

The session concluded after a thrilling hour and a half of running, and for the first time in his career George Russell topped the timesheets of a Formula 1 practice session with the fastest lap in F1 history- a 0:54.546. The two Aston Martin Red Bull Racing car’s of Max Verstappen and Alex Albon finished second and third respectively (as they did last weekend) and Bottas and Kvyat completed the top five. Then followed Gasly, Esteban Ocon, Sebastian Vettel, Daniel Ricciardo and Charles Leclerc in the fastest ten.

Free Practice Two begins in just under two hours time, and Russell will be hoping to replicate his standout performance once more.

Free Practice One Timings:

Pos	#	Driver	Nat.	Team	Time	Gap	Laps
1	63	George Russell	GBR	Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team	54.546	N/A	49
2	33	Max Verstappen	NED	Aston Martin Red Bull Racing	54.722	0.176s	29
3	23	Alexander Albon	THA	Aston Martin Red Bull Racing	54.811	0.265s	18
4	77	Valtteri Bottas	FIN	Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team	54.868	0.322s	44
5	26	Daniil Kvyat	RUS	Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda	55.011	0.465s	40
6	10	Pierre Gasly	FRA	Scuderia AlphaTauri Honda	55.166	0.620s	37
7	31	Esteban Ocon	FRA	Renault DP World F1 Team	55.273	0.727s	49
8	5	Sebastian Vettel	GER	Scuderia Ferrari	55.281	0.735s	40
9	3	Daniel Ricciardo	AUS	Renault DP World F1 Team	55.379	0.833s	39
10	16	Charles Leclerc	MON	Scuderia Ferrari	55.449	0.903s	35
11	18	Lance Stroll	CAN	BWT Racing Point Formula One Team	55.558	1.012s	41
12	11	Sergio Pérez	MEX	BWT Racing Point Formula One Team	55.716	1.170s	33
13	55	Carlos Sainz Jr.	ESP	McLaren F1 Team	55.757	1.211s	41
14	7	Kimi Räikkönen	FIN	Alfa Romeo Racing	55.783	1.237s	32
15	99	Antonio Giovinazzi	ITA	Alfa Romeo Racing	55.858	1.312s	35
16	4	Lando Norris	GBR	McLaren F1 Team	56.078	1.532s	47
17	20	Kevin Magnussen	DEN	Haas F1 Team	56.130	1.584s	37
18	6	Nicholas Latifi	CAN	Williams Racing	56.764	2.218s	48
19	51	Pietro Fittipaldi	BRA	Haas F1 Team	57.077	2.531s	24
20	89	Jack Aitken	GBR	Williams Racing	57.187	2.641s	33