Ricciardo's team takes 'huge step' as Aussies shine, Mercedes send ...

Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes were the talk of the grid after finishing first and second in FP2 while Australian duo Daniel Ricciardo and Oscar Piastri impressed on the opening day of the 2024 Formula One season.

Hamilton topped the times in the second practice at the Bahrain International Circuit with a best lap of 1min 30.374sec, which came in two-tenths clear of team-mate George Russell.

It followed a strong showing from Ricciardo which saw the RB driver top the first practice with Hamilton coming in ninth-fastest and Russell in seventh.

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Piastri, meanwhile, was third-fastest in the opening practice and fifth in FP2 but McLaren teammate Lando Norris found himself all the way down in P20 after the second practice.

Read on for the full results and reaction to both practices sessions!

KEY DETAIL IN RICCIARDO’S SURPRISE P1 AS AUSSIE’S TEAM TAKES ‘HUGE STEP’

Daniel Ricciardo topped the times for the re-branded RB team, formerly Alpha Tauri, in the first practice, the Australian beating both McLarens in a windswept session at Sakhir.

Grumbling world champion Max Verstappen wound up sixth for Red Bull, but the action provided few clues to likely pace and form for Saturday’s race that kicks off an unprecedented 24-race campaign.

Ricciardo clocked a best lap in 1min 32.869sec when running on softs late in the hour’s action to finish on top ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri with Yuki Tsunoda fourth in the second RB.

Daniel Ricciardo topped FP1. (Photo by Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images

Two-time world champion Fernando Alonso was fifth for Aston Martin ahead of Verstappen, Mercedes’ George Russell, Charles Leclerc in the leading Ferrari and his future team-mate Lewis Hamilton in the second Mercedes.

Valtteri Bottss was 10th for Alfa Romeo ahead of Carlos Sainz in the second Ferrari and Sergio Perez in the second Red Bull.

On a perfect but windy day at Sakhir, the air temperature was 20 degrees Celsius and the track 36 as the action began with Bottas leading the way for Sauber.

Verstappen came out after seven minutes with the lead changing rapidly as the drivers and teams settled into a rhythm on the highly abrasive circuit in breezy conditions.

The 26-year-old Dutchman took command after 12 minutes with a fastest lap in 1:33.900, the first below 1:34 and six-tenths quicker than Sainz in the leading Ferrari.

As is his custom, the champion was soon complaining about his car, the new RB20. In an expletive message on team radio he said “everything is s***, like miles off!”

The team made a front wing adjustment when he pitted.

Russell briefly replaced Verstappen on top, but he responded immediately to trim his lap to 1:33.535 before McLaren switched to soft tyres, Piastri and then Norris taking over at the top of the times in 1:32.901.

As others followed, on to softs, Ricciardo clocked a quickest lap in 1:32.869 with RB team-mate Tsunoda going fourth, a hint that Red Bull’s junior outfit may have more potential than expected.

Daniel Ricciardo gears up in the car ahead of the second practice session. (Photo by Giuseppe CACACE / AFP)Source: AFP

With 12 minutes to go, the Australian remained on top, but without any soft-tyre laps from the ‘big three’ teams and many drivers continuing to evaluate hard and medium compounds for long runs.

While that may be the case, Sky Sports F1’s Naomi Schiff said it was still clear that RB has taken a “huge step forward”.

“I think nobody coming into today would have believed RB would have been top of the pack, but we have to say there is only three teams out there that put on the soft sets in Practice One, they were one of the them. Clearly they have made a huge step forward this season,” she said.

“Of the lower pack of the grid last year they are definitely the ones that looked to have made a step forward. I think Sauber have made a step forward as well, it’s exciting times for them.”

At this point, Verstappen was sixth and Perez 12th, with Hamilton in between in ninth, ample proof that the session offered any decisive evidence of form and pace for the year ahead.

HAMILTON’S ‘SHOCK’ AS MERCEDES SEND WARNING IN FP2

Later, Lewis Hamilton topped the times ahead of his Mercedes team-mate George Russell in the second practice as defending champion Verstappen struggled to sixth.

In an unexpected surge of pace that was not expected following their two years of struggle in the ground-effect era, the ‘Silver Arrows’‘ were dominant ahead of two-time champion Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin.

“It’s a shock, but we’ll take it,” Hamilton said. “It feels like a race car for once.”

Lewis Hamilton drives during the second practice session. (Photo by Giuseppe CACACE / AFP)Source: AFP

Hamilton clocked a best lap of 1min 30.374sec to outpace Russell by two-tenths under the lights at the Bahrain International Circuit at Sakhir.

Alonso was third ahead of Carlos Sainz, whose Ferrari seat will be taken by Hamilton next year, with McLaren’s Oscar Piastri fifth ahead of Red Bull’s Verstappen and Nico Hulkenberg of Haas.

Lance Stroll was eighth in the second Aston Martin ahead of Charles Leclerc in the second Ferrari and Sergio Perez in the other Red Bull.

The fuel loads and engine settings of the teams remained unknown, but it was clear - even in gusty conditions - that Mercedes’ car for 2024 was much different in performance and potential to the ‘diva’ of previous years.

Zhou Guanyu was first out for the session in his eye-catching green and black Sauber ahead of a group of rivals before Leclerc took control in his Ferrari, topping the times with a lap in 1:31.578.

That did not last long before Hamilton showed the potential of the new Mercedes to clock 1:30.751 and set the pace with team-mate Russell while Verstappen, frustrated by car and conditions, worked up to third.

“I’ve got too much air into my helmet” complained the Dutchman, running on softs like everyone else.

Hamilton, who has not won in 45 races - he won 22 of the 45 he entered before that, continued to improve and after half an hour clocked a new fastest lap in 1:30.374, moving four-tenths clear of nearest rival Sainz, whose seat at Ferrari he takes next season.

Both Red Bulls were struggling to match the pace on softs at this stage and Russell endorsed the view that Mercedes are back in contention when he went second with 25 minutes to go.

That signalled a switch in focus to race set -up lapping for most teams, all switching to run on used tyres for data collection ahead of Saturday’s race.

In this phase, Verstappen’s lap times were impressive and appeared to show less reaction to tyre wear in the conditions.

Daniel Ricciardo, who topped the times for the re-branded RB team, formerly Alpha Tauri, in Thursday’s first practice, ended up in 12th.