Bahrain Grand Prix: Thursday Practice Recap

Having logged 441 laps in the VF-24 at last week’s pre-season test at the same track, MoneyGram Haas F1 Team drivers Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen started the first grand prix session of the year accumulating solid mileage in FP1 – the 60-minute session underway at 14:30 local time.

Both drivers ran two sets of Pirelli P Zero Yellow medium tires – with shorter first stints followed by race-focused distance running on their respective second sets. Magnussen logged a best lap of 1:37.477 with Hulkenberg recording a 1:37.38 by the checkered.

FP2 commenced at 18:00 under the lights around the 5.412-kilometer (3.363-mile), 15-turn circuit – conditions representative of Friday evening’s qualifying session and Saturday’s 57-lap race. Hulkenberg and Magnussen focused their run plans with qualifying in mind – utilizing two sets of Red soft rubber.

After a baseline outing and a trip back to the garage for fresh rubber, Hulkenberg clocked a 1:30.884 (P7), with Magnussen posting a 1:31.764 (P14). High-fuel runs concluded the day’s on-track program.

MoneyGram Haas F1 Team ran a total of 102 laps on Friday across FP1 and FP2 – 52 by Magnussen with 50 from Hulkenberg.

Nico Hulkenberg:

“It was a pretty good Friday - the first one of the year - so not much of a reference yet. This morning, we continued to focus on long-run and race-pace stuff, trying a couple of things. This afternoon was more like a normal program. The pace over one lap was maybe a bit unexpected but also there’s no reason to get over-excited or over-ambitious now. I think there were a few people who didn’t do low-fuel runs and have more potential, but it’s going to be tight and fun to see. I expect a very tight field in qualifying, like it was last year, it will continue to be like that – so the smallest mistake can have a big impact. I’m not exactly sure where we'll slot in, but we’ll put everything that we have into tomorrow.”

 

Kevin Magnussen:

“I think it’s been a pretty decent day. There’s still a big uncertainty on other people’s fuel loads etc. but again we were focusing on race runs and that was actually good – I’m encouraged so far. On low-fuel, it’s still going to be a big learning curve as we haven’t had any running – FP2 was the first real low-fuel run that we did, so lots to learn there. It seems simpler than the high-fuel running, which I feel like we’ve gone in the right direction with in terms of tire-wear at least. I’m curious to learn about the real pace of the car in race conditions but tire degradation is better.”

 

Ayao Komatsu, Team Principal:

“In FP1, it was a continuation of building on from the work of last week – looking at the high-fuel long-run performance – because that’s still our biggest limitation. That’s why looking at the timesheets we were bottom two but we weren’t worried about that, we were focused on our program like we were in testing. I’m happy that we learned a couple of things that led to changes for FP2. 

“In FP2, the conditions were very different compared to testing, it was actually quite cold. In both sessions, it was pretty windy and more difficult compared to testing as well. In FP2, we looked at our low-fuel performance for the first time since the third day of testing. Again, we didn’t get the best out of it but having said that, the lap Nico put in was pretty good, but that’s not my main concern. We then did a high-fuel run – and it was okay – but it shows we’ve got a bit more work to do. The things we learned through testing have been reflected today and it shows that we’re in a better place, but we must make another step, so we’re really focused on that.”

 

Today's Data

Event: Free Practice 1 & 2 for the Bahrain Grand Prix – Thursday February 29
Location: Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir
Layout: 5.412-kilometer (3.363-mile), 15-turn track
FP1 & FP2 Weather: Sunny / Clear
Drivers: Kevin Magnussen, Nico Hulkenberg

 

Free Practice 1 (FP1) Rundown:

Magnussen: 19^th overall (1:37.477), 25 laps 
Hulkenberg: 20^th overall (1:37.938), 27 laps 
Fastest: Daniel Ricciardo of RB (1:32.869)

 

Free Practice 2 (FP2) Rundown:

Hulkenberg: 7^th overall (1:30.884), 23 laps 
Magnussen: 14^th overall (1:31.764), 27 laps 
Fastest: Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes (1:30.374)