Red Bull’s Max Verstappen finished Friday Practice on top as drivers and teams geared up for the 2021 Bahrain Grand Prix.
Verstappen dominated both sessions but ultimately finished the day just 0.095 seconds clear of McLaren’s Lando Norris as several teams look closely matched throughout the grid.
Now, here is a full roundup of FP1 and FP2 featuring highlights and results.
FP1
Alpine were first to hit the track with Fernando Alonso straight out of the pits ahead of Esteban Ocon, as several drivers opted to quickly hit the track for installation laps.
Ocon proceeded to set an early benchmark of 1m 36.284 which was quickly dismantled by Daniel Ricciardo, Lando Norris and Sergio Perez, before Lewis Hamilton went quickest with a 1m 32.844 towards the end of the opening ten minutes.
Bottas however soon snatched top spot before Verstappen lowered the fastest time further with a 1m 32.591, which was surpassed by a second flier by Hamilton who produced a 1m 32.214 as Sergio Perez went fourth quickest come the 30 minute mark.
Norris soon produced a new quickest lap as he dipped below the 92s barrier with a 1m 31.897, with several midfield rivals struggling to get close to his pace until the frontrunners headed out in a frantic final ten minutes.
Hamilton failed to topple his compatriot as he found himself 0.024s slower with Leclerc and Perez finishing fifth and sixth quickest come the checkered flag as they too failed to better Norris’ best effort.
Bottas however managed to post a 1m 31.692 to eventually go second quickest after Verstappen left it late for his fresh soft tyre run to snatch the fastest lap time with a 1m 31.394 ahead of Bottas and Norris who rounded out the top three.
| Position | Driver | Team | Time |
| 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 1m 31.394 |
| 2 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | + 0.298 |
| 3 | Lando Norris | McLaren | + 0.503 |
| 4 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | + 0.527 |
| 5 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | + 0.599 |
| 6 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull | + 0.677 |
| 7 | Pierre Gasly | AlphaTauri | + 0.801 |
| 8 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | + 0.972 |
| 9 | Daniel Ricciardo | McLaren | + 1.040 |
| 10 | Antonio Giovinazzi | Alfa Romeo | + 1.392 |
| 11 | Kimi Raikkonen | Alfa Romeo | + 1.740 |
| 12 | Sebastian Vettel | Aston Martin | + 1.763 |
| 13 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | + 1.839 |
| 14 | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri | + 1.935 |
| 15 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine | + 2.134 |
| 16 | Fernando Alonso | Alpine | + 2.478 |
| 17 | George Russell | Williams | + 2.733 |
| 18 | Nicholas Latifi | Williams | + 2.946 |
| 19 | Mick Schumacher | Haas | + 3.107 |
| 20 | Nikita Mazepin | Haas | + 3.581 |
FP2
Alfa Romeo’s Kimi Raikkonen and Antonio Giovinazzi were straight out of the box at start of session as Alpine’s Esteban Ocon opted for a practice start at end of the pit lane with everyone soon filing out for their opening runs.
Verstappen soon set the early pace with a 1m 31.842 ahead of Carlos Sainz and Pierre Gasly, with Hamilton seeing his first lap time of 1m 31.647 deleted for exceeding track limits.
Haas’ Nikita Mazepin meanwhile had an early off through turns six and seven after losing the rear on entry as a result of crosswinds through that section of the circuit.
Raikkonen soon afterwards lost the rear of his Alfa Romeo as he picked up power through turns two and three, veering sideways into the barriers of which he escaped with just a broken front nose as he limped back to the pits.
Bottas soon displaced Verstappen at the top with a 1m 31.503 on medium tyres, which was the same compound that Hamilton had on when he managed his first official flier to go fastest with a 1m 31.261 just before everyone pitted for an early lull in proceedings.
Soft tyre Qualifying simulations started soon afterwards as Yuki Tsunoda leapt up to second before Hamilton pulled a gap with a 1m 31.082 to move 0.045s clear of Sainz who went second quickest ahead of Bottas.
Norris then produced a stunning flier to go top with a 1m 30.942 which was immediately bettered by Verstappen with a session topping 1m 30.847, whilst Ricciardo only managed sixth fastest shortly afterwards..
Verstappen consequently finished Friday on top from Norris, Hamilton, Sainz, Bottas, Ricciardo, Tsunoda plus Lance Stroll, Pierre Gasly and Perez who rounded out the top ten.
Hamilton however edged out Verstappen by a tenth of a second in race simulations, whilst Perez marginally outpaced Bottas with Ricciardo a further tenth behind the Finnish driver.
| Position | Driver | Team | Time |
| 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 1m 30.847 |
| 2 | Lando Norris | McLaren | + 0.095 |
| 3 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | + 0.235 |
| 4 | Carlos Sainz | Ferrari | + 0.280 |
| 5 | Valtteri Bottas | Mercedes | + 0.371 |
| 6 | Daniel Ricciardo | McLaren | + 0.383 |
| 7 | Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri | + 0.447 |
| 8 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | + 0.546 |
| 9 | Pierre Gasly | AlphaTauri | + 0.636 |
| 10 | Sergio Perez | Red Bull | + 0.656 |
| 11 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine | + 0.754 |
| 12 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | + 0.765 |
| 13 | Antonio Giovinazzi | Alfa Romeo | + 0.893 |
| 14 | Sebastian Vettel | Aston Martin | + 0.922 |
| 15 | Fernando Alonso | Alpine | + 0.923 |
| 16 | Kimi Raikkonen | Alfa Romeo | + 1.015 |
| 17 | George Russell | Williams | + 1.484 |
| 18 | Mick Schumacher | Haas | + 2.450 |
| 19 | Nicholas Latifi | Williams | + 2.553 |
| 20 | Nikita Mazepin | Haas | + 2.602 |
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