After completing the mandatory program on the first day of testing, the teams got to work on the settings and rubber, favoring the compositions that will be used at the Grand Prix next week.
The morning session went smoothly. Hamilton’s car lost a small fragment of the aerodynamic body kit, which was run over by Alonso, who was behind it, Lewis pitted for repairs and Fernando continued to drive. Then Yuki Tsunoda left the body kit section on a bump at the end of the straight. Sainz lost time in the pits due to problems with the brakes, Tsunoda – due to the gearbox.
Teams aimed to simulate a race with pit stops, and at the end of the session many set off for a short run of laps on soft tyres, affecting results. Eight out of ten riders successfully covered more than the race distance.
The protocol was led by Carlos Sainz with a lap time of 1:32.486 – the best time of two days so far, but the track will get faster in the evening.
In the closing minutes the virtual safety car mode was announced, then red flags appeared and a start from one place was announced, an extra warm-up lap and another start, with the riders almost colliding due to many remaining stationary – the FIA tested a new software provision for these procedures.
After a break of one hour, the stages continue, in most teams the riders change.
Results of the morning session
| Pilot | Team | Time | Difference | Circles |
| 1.K Sainz | Ferrari | 1:32,486 | – | 70 |
| 2. L. Sargent | Willems | 1:32,549 | +0.063 | 74 |
| 3. F. Alonso | Aston Martin | 1:32,969 | +0.483 | 64 |
| 4.G Zhou | Alfa Romeo | 1:33.170 | +0.684 | 43 |
| 5. K. Magnussen | hare | 1:33,442 | +0.956 | 67 |
| 6. E. Okon | Alps | 1:33,490 | +1,004 | 49 |
| 7.S Perez | Red Bull | 1:33,751 | +1,265 | 76 |
| 8. L Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:33,954 | +1,468 | 72 |
| 9. L. Norris | McLaren | 1:35,522 | +3,036 | 65 |
| 10. Y. Tsunoda | AlphaTauri | 1:37,687 | +3.222 | 85 |
Source: F1 News
I am Christopher Clyde, an experienced journalist and content writer with a passion for sports. I have been writing about Formula 1 news for the past five years and am currently employed as an author at athletistic.com, one of the top sports websites in the US.
