Hamilton gives first indication of Ferrari’s true pace after Bahrain GP FP2

While his team-mate Charles Leclerc topped the timesheets in FP2, Hamilton ended the session down in fifth place, finishing three tenths of a second behind the Ferrari benchmark.

Hamilton’s Friday was also complicated by an impeding incident with Gabriel Bortoleto mid-way through the session. The Ferrari driver was placed under investigation by the FIA stewards for the incident.

Drawing his first conclusions at the end of the day, the seven-time world champion described Friday as a challenging one, with very little grip available on track making it difficult to find the right balance. Hamilton noted that this was a common issue across the field, while Ferrari also explored different set-up directions throughout the two sessions.

With the team now turning its attention to analysing the data collected, Hamilton acknowledged that Ferrari still needs to find the right compromise and put the car in a better position for Saturday. However, he also stressed that the team does not appear to be too far away from the pace.

Ferrari’s performance over the long runs was another positive takeaway from Friday, with Leclerc in particular showing a strong and consistent pace. The Monegasque appeared able to keep the SF-26 competitive over longer stints, with his average pace also comparing favourably to Verstappen’s despite the Red Bull driver running on the more durable medium compound.

That comparison remains difficult to quantify precisely, given the different tyre compounds, stint lengths and unknown fuel loads. Nevertheless, Ferrari’s long-run performance provided further encouragement, with Leclerc looking particularly competitive and suggesting that the team could have the pace to remain in the fight at the front on Sunday.