Hamilton had not seen fastest time coming at all: 'A surprise'

Lewis Hamilton found himself at the very top of the timesheet in Bahrain after the second free practice session. It is a good omen, but the Mercedes driver finds it difficult to assess his chances for the rest of the weekend. Can he win another F1 race for the first time since 2021?

"This was a crazy Friday. I was late this morning. I was surprised it was very very windy this morning so it was a really difficult session I think for everyone, the track was so different from there to the test last week" said Hamilton, who did talk about feeling good in his W15.

Hamilton surprises himself

That he was suddenly fastest out of 20 drivers was something the seven-time world champion had not quite seen coming. "We made some improvements over the session. I don't understand, it's a shock to see us where we are but we'll take it for now" he laughed at Sky Sports, before adding:"We can't get ahead of ourselves, we need to keep our heads down, keep working on the setup and trying to track more."

So Hamilton is not too sure what to expect over the next two days at the Bahrain International Circuit. "I think it's a bit too early to say but I think we're there or thereabouts with Ferrari and Aston and McLaren. I don't know exactly where we're going with those guys but we're around those. Suppose a nice battle with us, I think if Max is in the front he will veer off as he has done for the last couple years."