Bahrain GP
Bahrain International Circuit
ended
25 days ago
That concludes our coverage of P3 on the McLaren.com Pitwall. Please join us later today for qualifying!
25 days ago
The chequered flag flies. The top 10 for you: 1) ROS, 2) VET, 3) WEB, 4) Lewis, 5) SCHU, 6) Jenson, 7) RAI, 8) RIC, 9) GRO, 10) ALO.
25 days ago
Pit » HAM: "You have time for two more timed laps."
25 days ago
There are 21 cars on-track, but not Jenson. He's out of the car and debriefing with his engineers.
25 days ago
Perfect pitstop from the guys then...
25 days ago
Pit » BUT: "Let DIR through. There's a large gap behind him."
25 days ago
Lewis heads back out for his final few laps of the session, again on the option tyre.
25 days ago
Pit » BUT: "Track position is good. You can have one slow lap and then one more flying lap."
25 days ago
Jenson goes fourth quickest.
25 days ago
Hamilton: "It doesn't feel bad to be honest."
25 days ago
Pit » HAM: "How's the car?"
25 days ago
Pit » HAM: "Understood, you have a clear track around you."
25 days ago
Hamilton: "Box this lap."
25 days ago
Pit » BUT: "The car in front is Lewis and he's 17s ahead."
25 days ago
Jenson heads out on the option tyre as well. There are only 3 cars on-track.
25 days ago
Pit » HAM: "You are the fastest car in sector 3. Time to find: 0.3s in sector 2 and 0.2s in sector 1."
25 days ago
Pit » BUT: "It's got a tiny bit stronger. It's now 15km/h and it's turned around a bit. You have a tailwind into Turn 4."
25 days ago
25 days ago
Pit » HAM: "Track position is good. You have a 7s gap to HUL behind, I suggest you use that."
25 days ago
Pit » HAM: "DIR is 8s ahead, you have a 14s gap to HUL behind."
25 days ago
Lewis heads out on the soft tyre.
25 days ago
Pit » BUT: "The weather forecast says the wind is going to stay the same for the rest of the weekend."
25 days ago
25 days ago
Pit » HAM: "The first car has just gone out on the option tyre."
25 days ago
25 days ago
Pit » BUT: "Box this lap."
25 days ago
Halfway through the session, the top 10 for you: 1) VET, 2) GRO, 3) SCHU, 4) WEB, 5) RAI, 6) ROS, 7) VER, 8) Jenson, 9) DIR, 10) Lewis.
25 days ago
Pit » HAM: "If the balance is okay, that's good. The grip will come when we put new tyres on."
25 days ago
Hamilton: "The car felt pretty good."
25 days ago
Lewis returns to the pits.
25 days ago
Pit » HAM: "We're currently 1s slower than the best time. Jenson has just done a lap 0.5s faster than us."
25 days ago
Hamilton: "How's the pace?"
25 days ago
Pit » HAM: "Be careful, you've got KOV close behind and immediately behind him is PER."
25 days ago
Jenson and Lewis's first flying laps of the day are 1:35.5s and 1:35.7s respectively.
25 days ago
There are 15 cars on-track.
25 days ago
Pit » BUT: "That's good. You now have VET 7s behind, who's on an out-lap."
25 days ago
Pit » BUT: "SCHU is 3s behind, he's on a timed lap."
25 days ago
Pit » HAM: "Track position is good, the gap behind is still 8s."
25 days ago
Jenson heads out too. The track is starting to get busy - at last.
25 days ago
Pit » HAM: "You have PER 3s behind. There's a big gap behind him."
25 days ago
Lewis heads out.
25 days ago
Pit » HAM: "The wind direction is a cross wind down the start-finish straight, coming from your left. That will be a head wind through the high-speed."
25 days ago
Pit » BUT: "Yes, it looks very slow out there."
25 days ago
25 days ago
The Force Indias are the first cars to set lap times. DIR leads with a 1:35.3s.
25 days ago
A bit of trivia for the statisticians among you: Jenson has led more laps than anyone else this year (61). Will he add to that tomorrow?!
25 days ago
Hamilton: "Yep, fine."
25 days ago
Pit » HAM: "Everything okay with the car?"
25 days ago
25 days ago
Pit » BUT: "Could you feel the wind between Turns 4 and 13?"
25 days ago
Pit » BUT: "We'll be going back out in 10-12 minutes time."
25 days ago
Hamilton: "Turn 1."
25 days ago
Pit » HAM: "Radio check Turn 1."
25 days ago
Jenson returns to the pit garage. Now it's Lewis's turn to begin his day's work.
25 days ago
Jenson heads out on-track.
25 days ago
The session gets underway.
25 days ago
Both drivers are in their cars, ready to go.
25 days ago
25 days ago
Pit » BUT: "Good morning Jenson, radio check."
25 days ago
Really hot conditions today. The ambient temperature is already in the early 30s and there's talk of a lot of sand on the track.
25 days ago
Good morning from Sakhir. Welcome to our live coverage of P3 on the McLaren.com Pitwall.
25 days ago
That concludes our Friday coverage. Many thanks for joining us.
26 days ago
Fastest P2 time was ROS (1m32.816s). HAM was fourth (1m33.747s) and BUT sixth (1m34.246s).
26 days ago
Top 10 at the end of P2 is: 1 ROS 2 WEB 3 VET 4 HAM 5 SCH 6 BUT 7 KOB 8 ALO 9 GRO 10 PER.
26 days ago
That's the end of the session.
26 days ago
Pit » BUT: "That's the chequered flag."
26 days ago
#socialfriday @Liamos89 asks: "What are those things attached either side of the front wing? Look like vacuums." They're brake coolers!
26 days ago
Pit » HAM: "Time for one more timed lap, Lewis."
26 days ago
#socialfriday @snorkel_maiden asks: "What does parc fermé mean?" It's a secure time/area when/where we're forbidden from touching the cars.
26 days ago
It's an extremely busy session - 21 cars on the track. This is typically the time when teams run their high-fuel simulations.
26 days ago
Of course, but it's important not to blame people in tough and stressful situations. Drivers make mistakes too - and we don't blame them...
26 days ago
#SocialFriday @frysbil asks: "Do the drivers ever have a chat with the mechanic whose error has possibly cost them a place or the race?"
26 days ago
Pit: "Get ready for pitstops, please guys."
26 days ago
Pit » HAM: "Just be careful of Senna when you join the track. Car behind is Pedro - five seconds behind."
26 days ago
Lewis has just left the pits - both our cars are using Options.
26 days ago
#SocialFriday @SeanDsullyF1 asks: "How do you practice pitstops? With a mock-up or a real car?" We do 60-80 practice stops with the real car
26 days ago
Pit » BUT: "Car behind is Kovalainen. He left the pits with you."
26 days ago
20 mins of P2 remaining and the top 10 is 1 ROS 2 WEB 3 VET 4 HAM 5 SCH 6 BUT 7 KOB 8 ALO 9 GRO 10 PER.
26 days ago
Pit: "Lewis is stopping normally and going straight into the garage."
26 days ago
Lewis's last lap was a 1m33.747s - fourth overall.
26 days ago
Pit » HAM: "Yes, 10-second gap behind you."
26 days ago
Hamilton: "Do I have time for one more timed lap?"
26 days ago
Pit: "Jenson is box this lap. He's pit lane entry now."
26 days ago
Pit » HAM: "All the cars with you are on outlaps, like you."
26 days ago
26 days ago
And now Lewis begins his running on the softer of the two available tyre compounds.
26 days ago
An improvement for Jenson on the Option: he shaves his time down to a 1m34.246s.
26 days ago
Jenson's now out, conducting his first run on the softer Pirelli Option tyre.
26 days ago
Hamilton: "Box this lap, okay."
26 days ago
Pit » HAM: "Confirming we are box this lap."
26 days ago
That lap moves Lewis up to sixth overall - a 1m34.421s.
26 days ago
Pit » HAM: "Car behind is Schumacher - he could still be on a flying lap."
26 days ago
Lewis has just left the garage again.
26 days ago
Jenson's back in - still not finding the perfect balance.
26 days ago
Pit: "Let's bring round Lewis's tyres."
26 days ago
Jenson's just started another fast lap.
26 days ago
Pit » BUT: "Kovalainen is the car behind."
26 days ago
As you may have noticed, it's a double-screen: one for timing and one for the TV picture. #socialfriday
26 days ago
#socialfriday @keegs_7 asks: "When the drivers are in the garage and have a screen attached to the cockpit, what is displayed on it?"
26 days ago
Pit » BUT: "Drive straight out."
26 days ago
Firing up Jenson's car.
26 days ago
#socialfriday @TheRealDomRough asks: "Do McLaren design their own gearboxes, or buy them from an external company?"They're all our own work!
26 days ago
We're making more detail changes to both cars.
26 days ago
So, neither driver has set a fully representative time, but for the record, BUT is sixth (1m34.500s) and HAM is seventh (1m34.708s).
26 days ago
Both drivers are back in this lap.
26 days ago
Now out goes Jenson.
26 days ago
Let's follow Lewis.
26 days ago
Pit » BUT: "We're going back out for another run."
26 days ago
Lewis now leaves the pits - let's see if those changes have the desired impact on his run.
26 days ago
Dave Robson, Jenson's race engineer, and Tom Stallard (his Olympic rowing silver medallist performance engineer) are briefing for run two...
26 days ago
Jenson's back in the garage - he's also debriefing as he wasn't entirely happy with his first run of the afternoon.
26 days ago
Lewis is back in the garage - he's making a few suggestions to Andy Latham, his race engineer.
26 days ago
Pit » HAM: "Okay. Stop on your marks and lay some rubber, please."
26 days ago
Hamilton: "Box this lap."
26 days ago
Pit » BUT: "Let's keep this gap to Karthikeyan."
26 days ago
Jenson sets a more representative time: 1m34.500s - fastest.
26 days ago
Pit » HAM: "Car behind is Glock. There's a 12-second gap behind him - consider dropping back and using that."
26 days ago
Pit » HAM: "Drop back behind Perez."
26 days ago
Jenson's first lap was a 1m40.476s. That was more of a sighting lap. This one already looks faster...
26 days ago
Pit: "Lewis is box this lap."
26 days ago
Hamilton: "Box this lap."
26 days ago
Pit » BUT: "Lewis is the car behind: eight seconds back."
26 days ago
Pit » HAM: "Cars around you are on outlaps, like you. Good idea to stay in position."
26 days ago
Pit » BUT: "Car in front is Grosjean - a good gap to him"
26 days ago
Both cars have just left the garage.
26 days ago
Both cars are readying for the off.
26 days ago
Hamilton: "Have the track temperatures changed?"
26 days ago
The wind direction has changed since this morning's session - all the little details count...
26 days ago
Pit » HAM: "Loud and clear. Can you hear me okay?"
26 days ago
Hamilton: "Radio check."
26 days ago
26 days ago
Pit » BUT: "Okay Jenson. Radio check."
26 days ago
Both drivers are now strapped into the cars.
26 days ago
Pit » BUT: "Can we have the tyres to the car please?"
26 days ago
Welcome back to LIVE coverage of P2 at the PITWALL. www.mclaren.com/formula1
26 days ago
That concludes our coverage of P1 of the Bahrain Grand Prix. Join us again in two and a half hours for coverage of P2.
26 days ago
Top 10 at the end of P1 is 1 HAM 2 VET 3 DIR 4 ROS 5 BUT 6 HUL 7 SCH 8 WEB 9 RAI 10 GRO.
26 days ago
That's the session over.
26 days ago
Both Jenson and Lewis are out of their cars.
26 days ago
So that's our session over. Lewis's fastest time was a 1m33.572s and Jenson's was a 1m34.277s. Full finishing order to come.
26 days ago
A quick debrief now with the engineers...
26 days ago
Both cars now back in the garage.
26 days ago
Pit: "Jenson's box this lap - he's about 20 seconds away."
26 days ago
#socialfriday @Ginger_Jade asks: "What did your engineers study, to make it to Formula 1?" In most cases, mechanical engineering.
26 days ago
Pit » BUT: "Okay, one more timed lap."
26 days ago
Okay Lewis, understood. Box this lap.
26 days ago
Hamilton: "Box this lap."
26 days ago
Pit » BUT: "Alonso is the car behind, he's just left the pit lane."
26 days ago
Pit: "Guys, make sure you're ready for pitstops"
26 days ago
Pit » HAM: "You're in a good position - Petrov ahead and a good gap behind."
26 days ago
And away he goes!
26 days ago
Lewis fires up.
26 days ago
Pit » BUT: "Let Hulkenberg through - 14-second gap behind him."
26 days ago
To be clear about DRS - it's the first time it's been used by any team HERE. We've been using it all season.
26 days ago
Pit » BUT: "Okay, box this lap."
26 days ago
Pit » BUT: "Track position is now good."
26 days ago
Pit » BUT: "Vergne may come back towards you - use the gap behind."
26 days ago
Pit » BUT: "Cars in front are Schumacher and Vergne. You've got an 18-second gap behind."
26 days ago
Jenson has just left the garage. Lewis is also ready for the off.
26 days ago
#socialfriday @HankBizzle asks: "What layout of the Bahrain circuit is being used? The 2010 one or the original?" The original one...
26 days ago
With just over one hour of P1 completed, the top 10 is 1 HAM 2 VET 3 ROS 4 BUT 5 SCH 6 WEB 7 RAI 8 GRO 9 HUL 10 DIR.
26 days ago
Hamilton: "The car's not bad."
26 days ago
Lewis is now feeding back to his race engineer Andy Latham. The nutty-sweet aroma of burnt brakes fills the garage!
26 days ago
Pit » HAM: "Understood, Lewis. Feedback on pace: you are the fastest car overall at the moment."
26 days ago
Hamilton: "Flat-spot on the front-left."
26 days ago
Pit: "Lewis is box this lap."
26 days ago
#socialfriday @wrighty1982 asks: "What's the hole at the very front of the nosecone for?" It's for driver cooling.
26 days ago
Lewis goes quickest overall: 1m33.572s - three tenths fastest than P2.
26 days ago
Pit: "Jenson is box this lap, guys. He's pit lane entry now."
26 days ago
Jenson improves that to a 1m34.277s. Lewis sets a benchmark - a 1m33.933s. Second overall.
26 days ago
Jenson's first timed lap of the morning is a 1m34.519s - fourth overall.
26 days ago
Pit » BUT: "Okay Jenson, track position is good. Ready for your timed laps."
26 days ago
Pit » HAM: "Track position is good."
26 days ago
Lewis has left the garage too.
26 days ago
#socialfriday @LFC_the_best asks: "Do the mechanics and drivers wear the same shoes?" No, drivers wear racing boots - chosen v carefully!
26 days ago
Pit: "Okay Andy, ready when you are."
26 days ago
Pit » HAM: "Lewis, can you hear me okay...? Good."
26 days ago
Pit » BUT: "Now a 10-second gap to the cars in front. Big gap behind."
26 days ago
Pit » BUT: "Cars in front are Rosberg and Vettel. Make the gap."
26 days ago
Jenson has just left the pits. It's going to get busier out there now.
26 days ago
Yes, but abrasion happens everywhere. We work with @AkzoNobel and regularly repaint the cars between races.
26 days ago
#socialfriday @DanSN117 asks: "Do the cars begin to experience the sand blasting effect on the paint, stripping it off?"
26 days ago
Pit » BUT: "Okay Jenson, we're getting ready for our baseline run."
26 days ago
Fundamentally the same, but the drivers' overalls are a more lightweight version.
26 days ago
#socialfriday @mr_leemur asks: "Are the mechanic's suits the same as the driver's race suits?"
26 days ago
The session's definitely getting busier now. We're getting ready to conduct our first runs.
26 days ago
If you've never been to MTC, that's MAVerick - a proposed land-speed record vehicle that was never developed in the 1990s. Fascinating, eh?
26 days ago
#socialfriday @magiccat007 asks: "Is that a jet sitting in McLaren HQ next to all the race cars and what is it?"
26 days ago
We'll be using DRS for the first time at this circuit. The sensor is ahead of Turn 14, and deployment is down the main straight.
26 days ago
Just four cars circulating at the moment. Expect teams to begin running once that initial layer of dust has been skimmed off the surface.
26 days ago
Jenson has just wandered off. He watched Lewis's installation run, commenting that our car looks 'beautiful' out on the circuit.
26 days ago
Jenson has joined us. He's calling the installation laps 'dust surveys'!
26 days ago
Pit » HAM: "Okay Lewis, we'll drive straight out."
26 days ago
26 days ago
Pit » BUT: "Any thoughts on the grip?"
26 days ago
Pit » BUT: "Stop on your marks and lay rubber."
26 days ago
Both cars have boxed. Lewis is back in the garage undertaking a systems check. Jenson has rejoined the track.
26 days ago
Pit: "Lewis is pit lane entry now."
26 days ago
Remember, we're using a different configuration of track to what was last used here back in 2010. It's the original layout.
26 days ago
Jenson has just left the garage too.
26 days ago
Hamilton: "Turn One."
26 days ago
Pit » HAM: "Startline is clear, radio check Turn One."
26 days ago
Lewis has just left the garage.
26 days ago
The engineers are running over the programme for the installation laps - a complex series of system checks.
26 days ago
Both drivers are already strapped into their cars - getting ready for their installation laps.
26 days ago
Greetings from Bahrain. Welcome to the first official practice session - it'll kick off in just a couple of minutes.
26 days ago
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