Formula One news

McLaren upbeat after Friday practice

McLaren Mercedes drivers Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso ended the second Free Practice for the Bahrain Grand Prix in second and fifth places respectively. Lewis set a time of 1:33.540 whilst Fernando did 1:33.784. The first 13 drivers were all within a little more than a second. In the morning session, Lewis ended up third with 1:34.110 and Fernando was fourth with 1:34.161. Lewis completed a total of 50 laps during both sessions whilst Fernando did 45 laps. 

"Two trouble-free practice sessions where we made positive progress," said Alonso. "The track was very dirty and continued to improve throughout the session. We spent our time perfecting the set-up and evaluating the tyres. I completed some long runs and all in all I think we are closer to the Ferraris than we have been so far this season on a Friday but it's a long weekend so we will see what happens."

Hamilton commented, "It has been a positive session today. In the first practice the track was very dirty and slippery so there was no point spending too much time looking at the set-up. In the 2nd session we began our fine tuning and completed a couple of long runs. I think I was quicker and more consistent than previously in the long runs which is positive and there is definitely more to come. We now have quite a bit of data to look at but so far so good."

Team boss Ron Dennis added, "A positive start with two trouble free sessions. We struggled slightly with the track conditions in the first session where it was extremely slippery, but managed to complete our programme. Our pace in the long runs is encouraging so we will see what the rest of the weekend brings."

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