Thursday, 27 February 2025

• Day 2: P1, 1:29.348, 127 laps

Carlos Sainz was the fastest driver on Bahrain's second day of pre-season testing. The Spanish race driver will not be driving tomorrow, so he will not return to the Williams FW47 until the Australian GP starts in Melbourne on the 14th of March.

After sharing driving duties yesterday with his teammate Alexander Albon, today Carlos had the day to himself to explore several aspects of his new car. Still, track activity was halted temporarily in the morning due to an unusual drizzle that compromised track conditions.

Beyond that circumstance, the Spaniard didn’t have any setback and he was able to finish his run plan.

Carlos started the day with several short runs. He set a time of 1:30.090 on the C2 tyre compound before switching to a six-lap run and one of five laps before the lunch break.

The Spaniard ran on the C3 compound in the afternoon hours. He started with several short stints, improving his best time twice (1:29.926, 1:29.800) before stopping the clock at 1:29.366 to climb to the top of the standings. He tested briefly the C4 tyre. He then focused on medium runs.

Carlos will return to the racetrack on Friday to follow the work of his team and his teammate, but he is not expected to get in the car. His pre-season testing comes to an end after 194 laps (67 in the afternoon of Wednesday and 127 laps on Thursday).

QUOTES:
“It was a very long day here in Bahrain, with us covering a lot of laps. A few stoppages due to the rain and the wind were not ideal to get into the rhythm but overall we managed to complete a good program. Although timesheets are not fully representative in preseason testing, we made some progress relative to yesterday, improving the balance and overall feeling of the car. However, it doesn’t feel like enough testing to be honest. Next thing for me is Australia and I wish I had more time to better understand the car and how it reacts to different set up changes. Having said that, I feel as ready as I can be and I can’t wait to push flat out already in race one!”

COMING UP:
Australian GP, Albert Park Circuit - 14-16 March 2025