WHAT WE LEARNED FROM FP1 AND FP2
- The tyres are all performing in line with our expectations. There’s about a second between the hard and the medium, and just under a second between the medium and the soft: so the gaps are nicely spaced out.
- Degradation is reasonably high here as anticipated, especially on the soft compound.
- The track characteristics are somewhat different to the first race in Australia: here it’s all about traction and managing the rear tyres – which are nonetheless holding up well.
- Once again, the cars are quicker than the equivalent free practice sessions last year.
- Despite the most aggressive asphalt of the entire season, the tyres performed with no issues at all, including blistering or graining.
- Track temperatures have been variable today as always in Bahrain: around 20 degrees lower in FP2 than FP1. Generally, temperatures are slightly cooler than last year.

MARIO ISOLA - HEAD OF CAR RACING
“No surprises from the first day of action here in Bahrain, which represents quite a different challenge compared to Australia, and as a result we’re also seeing a slightly different competitive order so far. We’re happy with the tyres, which are performing exactly how we wanted them to: there’s about a second between each compound up to now, and this means that it’s probably going to be quite difficult to qualify on the medium compound tomorrow during Q2, which determines the starting tyre for the grid. Last year we saw a mix of strategies in the race, and the early signs so far suggest that we could see the same again in 2019.”

FREE PRACTICE 1 – TOP 3 TIMES
DRIVER		TIME		COMPOUND
Leclerc		1m30.354s	SOFT C3 NEW
Vettel		1m30.617s	SOFT C3 NEW
Bottas		1m31.328s	SOFT C3 NEW

FREE PRACTICE 2 – TOP 3 TIMES
DRIVER		TIME		COMPOUND
Vettel		1m28.846s	SOFT C3 NEW
Leclerc		1m28.881s	SOFT C3 NEW
Hamilton	1m29.449s	SOFT C3 NEW

FP1 - BEST TIME BY COMPOUND
COMPOUND	DRIVER		TIME
HARD C1		Sainz		1m34.622s
MEDIUM C2	Bottas		1m32.340s
SOFT C3		Leclerc		1m30.354s

FP2 - BEST TIME BY COMPOUND
COMPOUND	DRIVER		TIME
HARD C1		Grosjean	1m32.436s
MEDIUM C2	Bottas		1m30.124s
SOFT C3		Vettel		1m28.846s

MOST LAPS BY COMPOUND SO FAR
COMPOUND	DRIVER				LAPS
HARD C1		Grosjean			14
MEDIUM C2	Hamilton, Hulkenberg, Kvyat	20
SOFT C3		Sainz				23
	
TYRE STATISTICS OF THE DAY
 			HARD	MEDIUM	SOFT
Kms driven*		367	1785	3533
Sets used overall**	6	26	52