- Bahrain Test - Day 2
Hamilton quickest on final day
Lewis Hamilton rounded off a memorable week in Bahrain after topping the timesheets of the second test, 1.421s quicker than Jean-Eric Vergne.
Hamilton took over from Nico Rosberg behind the wheel on Wednesday and set a benchmark of 1:34.136 while racking up an impressive lap total of 118 laps, far more than any other team and meaning Mercedes completed a hugely impressive 239 laps over two days. Toro Rosso improved on a disappointing Tuesday, where Daniil Kvyat finished bottom, as Vergne became the best of the rest with a late run. Force India's Sergio Perez failed to replicate his heroics on Sunday as he went fourth, 2.067s off Hamilton, while Daniel Ricciardo surpassed a race distance in the Red Bull but was over three seconds off the benchmark time.
McLaren opted to continue with Kevin Magnussen for the second day running rather than reserve and test driver driver Stoffel Vandoorne, who won his GP2 debut race at the weekend and was originally scheduled to run on Wednesday. But Magnussen's running turned out to minimal, as a front left suspension failure left his McLaren beached in the gravel trap, bringing out a red flag and an early lunch period. Magnussen's 18-lap haul is a disappointing return for the team after a double retirement during Sunday's race.
Lotus endured another frustrating day, as it cut Romain Grosjean's running short after 16 laps, exactly the same amount it managed on Day One with Pastor Maldonado. Grosjean had stopped on track in the late afternoon due to issues with power unit, which ultimately brought his test to a close, and later confirmed the the issue was unrelated to the one which brought Maldonado's day to a close on Tuesday. Ferrari also opted to bring Fernando Alonso's test to a "premature end" as a precautionary measure on Wednesday after discovering damage to his chassis, meaning he finished the day with just 12 laps to his name.
Test drivers Giedo van der Garde and Felipe Nasr took to the wheel for Sauber and Williams respectively and both surpassed a race distance, while Jules Bianchi took over from Max Chilton for Marussia, with his 93 laps the closest anyone got to Hamilton in terms of mileage.
Marcus Ericsson managed 66 laps throughout the day but brought about the fourth red flag later in the day after stopping on track, with what the team later confirmed was an ERS issue. Ultimately it brought a premature end to Caterham's test. Ericsson said: "In the afternoon session we started with a number of runs with a rear wing rake on, carrying out more aero work and then removed it to start the final planned runs of the test, but on my 13th run of the day we had an issue that stopped the car at turn eight. Even with the problem in the afternoon we got through a lot of work today and everyone's reasonably pleased with what we've achieved. We have a lot more information to work through at the factory before China."
Bahrain Test - Day 2
1. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 1:34.136 118 laps 2. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso 1:35.557 63 laps 3. Kevin Magnussen McLaren 1:36.203 26 laps 4. Sergio Perez Force India 1:36.586 62 laps 5. Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull 1:37.310 65 laps 6. Jules Bianchi Marussia 1:37.316 93 laps 7. Giedo van der Garde Sauber 1:37.623 77 laps 8. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1:37.912 12 laps 9. Marcus Ericsson Caterham 1:39.263 66 laps 10. Felipe Nasr Williams 1:39.879 64 laps 11. Romain Grosjean Lotus 1:43.732 16 laps
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