Valtteri Bottas set the fastest lap of the day for Mercedes on day two of F1 pre-season testing after an imperfect opening day put the team on the back foot.
The Finn registered his fastest lap of the day on the C5 soft tyres in the final hour of the afternoon session, after Mercedes began to recover lost time after a gearbox change on the first day of testing.
The 31-year-old will be keen to impose himself in this year’s championship battle after being beat by team-mate Lewis Hamilton in all of the previous five years. And Bottas set the tone on Saturday with a one minute 30.289secs lap – beating Friday’s fastest lap set by Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.
Seven-time world champion Hamilton kicked off the morning session for Mercedes although the team lost further time after a spin from the Brit. Bottas took over duties in the afternoon as the German manufacturer showed early signs of its pace in the final hour of the session.
Rest of the F1 field
Bottas’ lap time was 0.134secs faster than Frenchman Pierre Gasly. Gasly continued his fine form from the first day as the AlphaTauri looked a joy to drive with after the team shared facilities with Red Bull Racing for the first time.
Lance Stroll followed, also running the C5 tyres, as Aston Martin finally revealed just a small glimpse of what their AMR21 could potentially produce come the start of the season in two weeks’ time.
McLaren’s impressive start to testing continued as Lando Norris found himself in fourth place as he set a time only three tenths off Bottas, who set his lap on a tyre compound softer than the 21-year-old.
Antonio Giovinazzi finished in fifth position as he enjoyed another impressive outing ahead of the 2021 season. The Italian was a tenth clear of Charles Leclerc in the works Ferrari, as the team still seems to be lacking some stability and straight-line speed.
Nicholas Latifi got his hands on the new Williams for the first time, after test driver Roy Nissany was at the wheel on the opening day. The Canadian completed the most laps of anyone on the second day (132 laps) while he placed his car in seventh position.
Red Bull cause a red flag during testing
Red Bull’s Sergio Perez caused a red flag when his engine cover burst apart as he pulled out of the slipstream to perform an overtake on Latifi along the pit straight. The Mexican returned to the track finished eighth as he opted to stay on the C2 hard compound tyres for his fastest lap.
Morning benchmark Daniel Ricciardo slipped down the timesheets as he finished the day in ninth, the Aussie will be keen to get his hands on the McLaren on Sunday afternoon in the ideal race conditions.
Two-time world champion Fernando Alonso returned to Formula 1 after a two-year break away from the sport and claimed 10th on his first outing for Alpine. He and Esteban Ocon have now clocked the most mileage over testing thus far with 257 laps to their name, putting their Renault engine to the test before the 2021 season.
