Valtteri Bottas tops the timesheet on second day of F1 pre-season testing at BIC

Valtteri Bottas tops the timesheet on second day of F1 pre-season testing at BIC

Valtteri Bottas found himself in a familiar position today, sitting atop a timesheet as Formula 1 Aramco Pre-season Testing 2021 wrapped up its second day at Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) in Sakhir.

The Mercedes ace overcame some issues with the world champions’ W12 car to steer their 2021 contender to a fastest lap time of one minute 30.289 seconds during the day’s afternoon runs, which ended under the lights.

Daniel Ricciardo was fastest during the morning session with a best lap of 1:32.215 in his McLaren MCL35M.

The top flight’s teams and drivers continued to determine the level of their newest challengers ahead of the start of the 2021 FIA F1 World Championship, which flags off in a couple of weeks’ time with the F1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix March 26 to 28.

Tickets to the race weekend are now available for all vaccinated or COVID-19 recovered individuals. They are on sale at bahraingp.com with a single discounted price of BD100 across stands for the three-day event.

The F1 field heads for one final day of testing on Sunday (Editor’s note: March 14). The action begins in the morning at 10am and continues until 2pm. Following an hour-long break, running will be held from 3pm to 7pm.

Bottas completed 58 laps overall today, and he was able to register his fastest time in the final 20 minutes of testing.

Pierre Gasly of AlphaTauri followed with a 1:30.413 mark in his AT02 car while registering 87 laps. Lance Stroll had a best time of 1:30.460 for third on the times, behind the wheel of his Aston Martin AMR21 and running for 71 laps.

Lando Norris had led briefly as the afternoon session began its final hour. His time of 1:30.586 was eventually fourth-best for the day, while Antonio Giovinazzi of Alfa Romeo was fifth with a lap of 1:30.760.