McLaren made a statement on Friday at the Bahrain Grand Prix by trouncing the competition with an emphatic one-two.

With Oscar Piastri’s 1:30.505 sealing P1, a tenth and a half up on McLaren team-mate Norris, no other driver could get within half a second of Piastri, in an FP2 session which also featured the alarming sight of Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin steering wheel coming off in his hands.

McLaren make early Bahrain GP statement

The sunlight made way for floodlights as FP2 got underway, a welcomed development for many after balance and grip issued widely across the grid in a blisteringly hot opening hour of practice.

Six rookies took part in FP1, but the full-time cast of F1 2025 were back at the wheel for FP2, meaning a return to the cockpit for Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc, Carlos Sainz, Fernando Alonso, George Russell and Oliver Bearman.

Leclerc had an early wide moment at Turn 10 on the medium Pirelli tyres, as he began the process of getting dialled back into his Ferrari.

Merely a slight blip in his opening run, Leclerc set a 1:33.3 for the pack to chase, as Verstappen took on the challenge with a set of softs. Turn 10 would also catch out Verstappen, as last weekend’s Japanese GP winner began his Bahrain race weekend.

That opened the door for Leclerc’s team-mate Lewis Hamilton to put his Ferrari P1, like Leclerc, running a set of mediums.

Alonso’s opening track action in Bahrain meanwhile was being delayed by a steering wheel change on his Aston Martin.

Not only was the steering wheel switching itself off, it also came off in Alonso’s hands in the approach – thankfully slowly – into the final turn as he took to the run-off.

That prompted a visit to the Aston Martin garage from FIA technical delegate Jo Bauer.

As George Russell hit the front for Mercedes on a 1:31.945 – armed with softs – Hamilton’s attempt to respond now on that compound was thwarted by a wide moment at Turn 8, as the session approached one-third completion.

But next time around, Hamilton went three-hundredths clear of Russell to return to top spot.

McLaren were following a different path with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri lapping on the hard tyre.

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The times continued to tumble and McLaren would soon join in on the soft tyre fun, Piastri going a tenth and a half faster than Norris to head a McLaren one-two at the halfway point of the session, with Russell P3 and half a second off Piastri’s 1:30.505.

And it was at this point that Alonso returned to the track with a new steering column to keep the wheel attached this time.

No steering wheel issues for Verstappen, but the brakes were another matter, as he came over the radio to tell Red Bull that “the final corner, the brakes again just don’t work”.

He was sat P7, eight tenths off the pace and a tenth behind Isack Hadjar who continues to impress with Racing Bulls.

The data did suggest that Hadjar was running in a higher engine mode than Verstappen, but using the medium tyres for his best time, Hadjar had turned heads.

Race simulations would see out FP2, clearing the way for Piastri to top the session with Norris ensuring a dominant McLaren one-two, ahead of Russell.

Full FP2 timesheet

1 Oscar Piastri McLaren 1:30.505
2 Lando Norris McLaren +0.154
3 George Russell Mercedes +0.527
4 Charles Leclerc Ferrari +0.540
5 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes +0.722
6 Isack Hadjar Racing Bulls +0.733
7 Max Verstappen Red Bull Racing +0.825
8 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari +1.071
9 Oliver Bearman Haas F1 Team +1.079
10 Carlos Sainz Williams +1.118
11 Alexander Albon Williams +1.191
12 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls +1.201
13 Gabriel Bortoleto Kick Sauber +1.267
14 Jack Doohan Alpine +1.283
15 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin +1.320
16 Esteban Ocon Haas F1 Team +1.365
17 Pierre Gasly Alpine +1.442
18 Yuki Tsunoda Red Bull Racing +1.519
19 Lance Stroll Aston Martin +1.877
20 Nico Hulkenberg Kick Sauber+1.991

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