Scuderia Ferrari drivers Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz finished second and third respectively in the first free practice session for the Bahrain Grand Prix.
Hard and Medium tyres. The Monegasque driver began the session running “rake” devices for measurement purposes and both drivers started off on the Hard tyres. However, the session had to be red flagged almost immediately because of debris on track and after a rather long ten minutes, practice resumed with Charles and Carlos still on the Hards. They then switched to Medium tyres for the second part of the session. The first run on this compound was not the best for both drivers, given that Leclerc had a spin and Sainz encountered traffic. However, matters soon improved and they set their best times: Charles a 1’34”557 and Carlos a 1’34”611. Charles did 22 laps, Carlos 23.
Programme. The new weekend format means Friday is busier than in the past, with the second free practice session getting underway at 18 local.