Lando Norris, yeah, he kinda brushed off this whole brouhaha about McLaren having some edge at the Bahrain Grand Prix. So, there was this practice session, right? And his teammate, Oscar Piastri, well, he basically zipped ahead, bagging a one-two with Lando. Which was fab, except, Lando’s like, “Chill, it’s no biggie.” Apparently, Piastri was just 0.154 seconds faster. And then Mercedes’ George Russell came in third place, lagging 0.527 seconds behind Piastri. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was also there somewhere, being fast-ish.
Now, here’s a fun bit. Max Verstappen, you know, the guy who was all the rage in Japan last weekend? He was kinda, eh, seventh this time. And Lewis Hamilton, pretty much glued to that Ferrari these days, was right behind Max, slower by some 0.246 seconds. No pressure, Lewis.
Back to Lando, he reckons everyone’s raving over hocus-pocus because, in his view, rivals were probably just cruising, not revving their engines to the max. He’s being all cool-cat, downplaying McLaren’s supposed ‘advantage’. Simplified, he’s saying, “Hey, these engine modes, like, seriously, they’re deceptive. Shaving off 0.35secs? Yeah, that just shoves us back in line with those Mercedes guys.”
Now, interestingly, Russell kind of sees it differently. To him? McLaren’s zooming ahead, like, really ahead. Somewhere in that sizzling middle sector, where tires go a bit woozy from heat — McLaren apparently sips some secret sauce or something. So, work’s cut out for them, yet Russell believes they’ll be grooving close with them Ferrari and Max dudes. Also, he’s got this hunch, says qualifying won’t be the biggie it normally is; thinks it’s gonna be more about who’s racy and less about who’s speedy up front. Tire eating, folks! Tire eating will tell the real story, or so he says.
Ferrari’s got a tweak going on. An update to their floor, aiming to dance closer to pace. Leclerc and Hamilton both gave it a nod, like, “Yep, it’s doing things.” Hamilton sounding hopeful, thinks they’re moving forward bit by bit. Fingers crossed for more progress overnight.
Meanwhile, Verstappen’s not exactly doing cartwheels. Apparently, he’s dealing with grip dramas, not digging the feels, the balance is alright, but could be better. Long run was basically him going, “Why so slow, why so slow.” Had a little fun doing some drift practice towards the end because why not, when life’s giving you slow jams?
So, yeah. Back to McLaren. They were throwing out serious lap magic on simulated race runs. Fuel loads and engine whispers corrected, Norris kinda had it over Russell, just a teeny smidge of a 0.2sec margin each lap. Hamilton trailed just a touch and nudged by Verstappen, which, you know, is a big deal. Piastri and Leclerc? They were on different tires, so comparing times was like apples and oranges.
Elsewhere, Mercedes’ kid Kimi Antonelli was fifth fastest, hanging out with Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar and our buddy Max. Briton Oliver Bearman showed his grit in the Haas machine, placing ninth, with Williams’ Carlos Sainz on his tail. The whole session was chill, no drama, everyone familiar with the track, considering they had weeks of pre-season playtime not long ago.
Oh, nearly missed this bit — McLaren nailed the first practice too, Norris ahead of Alpine’s Pierre Gasly. A bunch of teams tossed young guns into the mix. Just another day at the races, right?
