Daniel Ricciardo takes centre stage in FP1 in Bahrain, probably the least significant of the weekend, not only because these are the first laps ever but also because of the very different conditions compared to those we will find in Qualifying and the Race.
The wind affected the session. Esteban Ocon was notable for his struggles amidst the gusts of Sakhir. More turbulence can be expected in the next two days.
Only a few teams fitted the first set of C3 tyres in the opening session. It was AlphaTauri, McLaren and Kick Sauber who sacrificed a set of the softest tyres.
Behind Daniel Ricciardo and the McLaren duo was the second VCARB of Tsunoda in fourth position. Further back were Alonso, Verstappen, Russell, Leclerc, Hamilton, and Bottas, who rounded out the top 10.
At the end of the session, the teams increased the fuel load on the cars to try some laps in a race simulation, with different loads between teammates and across different teams.
Free Practice 2 inevitably provides more representative data across the field.
Author: Andrea Vergani
Translation: Jaden Diaz-Ndisang
