On a warm Friday night in Bahrain, at the threshold of a new Formula One season, a young Australian named Oscar Piastri showed that in the strange theatre of speed, composure can speak as loudly as pace. The rookie avoided a heavy collision and then caught a slide at turn seven, even as his results sat well down the timesheets. Fernando Alonso, a veteran who has known the sport longer than his rival has been alive, led the second session, reminding everyone that experience and rhythm are not easily replaced. The story is less about who is fastest today than about how a new arrival finds his fo
Piastri Keeps His Cool in Bahrain as Alonso Tops FP2 for Aston Martin
He caught it, and the session continued.
Mark
Piastri finished 12th and 15th. Why is the story about him at all?
Mimi
Because of the two saves. He avoided a rear-end hit on Stroll coming out of the pits and caught a snap of oversteer at turn seven before it became a wall.
Luke
Worth saying that 'reflexes impressed' is the writer's read and onlookers' expectation. We don't have telemetry or team comment on how close either moment was.
Mark
And the lock-ups at turn one?
Mimi
The report links them to possible balance trouble. Piastri himself said he's still making mistakes and isn't fully happy.
Luke
'May be a signal' is the key phrase. That's speculation, not a diagnosis.
Mark
What about the Leclerc comparison?
Mimi
Karun Chandhok said Prema engineers rate Piastri higher. It's a lot to put on a rookie before his first race.
Luke
It's one pundit relaying private conversations. It isn't a measured comparison, and Piastri hasn't raced Leclerc in an F1 car.
Mark
And Alonso on top?
Mimi
1:30.907, ahead of Verstappen, with Stroll sixth despite the wrist pain. Verstappen said Aston Martin are quick.
Luke
It's one practice session. Teams hide fuel loads and engine modes, so FP2 order doesn't settle anything about Sunday.
Il Polso
- Piastri snapped his McLaren away from a potentially heavy rear-end collision as Lance Stroll's Aston Martin emerged from the pit lane directly in his path.
- Exiting turn seven, his MCL60 snapped into a sudden oversteer slide toward the high kerbs and the wall, and he caught it with seconds to spare.
- McLaren's balance problems surfaced in the second session, where the car dropped off sharply in qualifying simulations and Piastri locked up repeatedly into turn one.
- Piastri sits 12th in the first session and 15th in the second, while Fernando Alonso tops FP2 for Aston Martin ahead of qualifying on Sunday.
On a warm Friday night in Bahrain, at the threshold of a new Formula One season, a young Australian named Oscar Piastri showed that in the strange theatre of speed, composure can speak as loudly as pace. The rookie avoided a heavy collision and then caught a slide at turn seven, even as his results sat well down the timesheets. Fernando Alonso, a veteran who has known the sport longer than his rival has been alive, led the second session, reminding everyone that experience and rhythm are not easily replaced. The story is less about who is fastest today than about how a new arrival finds his footing, and how a team learns that the difference between a good car and a winning one lies in the details still waiting to be found.
On Friday night in Bahrain, Oscar Piastri was pushing down the main straight, battling Yuki Tsunoda's Alpha Tauri, when Lance Stroll's Aston Martin came out of the pit lane right in front of him. Piastri avoided what could have been a serious rear-end crash. That moment, along with a later save at turn seven, defined a practice day that revealed more about his reflexes than his raw speed.
At turn seven, the car stepped out in a sudden burst of oversteer toward the high kerbs and the wall. Piastri caught it and carried on. His lap times were modest, placing him 12th in the first session and 15th in the second, and he locked up several times into the turn one hairpin. He called himself a rookie still making progress, admitting mistakes and unfinished improvements, though he felt the team was in a reasonable place.
Expectations around him are already high. Karun Chandhok said Piastri is rated above Charles Leclerc, a view formed after talking to his former engineers at Prema Racing, and Piastri has won every title he has entered since 2019. Meanwhile, McLaren's teammate Lando Norris was strong on long runs, but the car faded in qualifying simulations, a fine-tuning problem the team will need to solve before Sunday.
At the top of FP2 was Fernando Alonso, the 41-year-old two-time champion, who edged out Max Verstappen under the lights. Stroll, returning from wrist surgery, struggled to keep both hands on the wheel, yet still placed sixth in both sessions. Verstappen admitted Aston Martin look quick and that Red Bull have work to do. Qualifying begins Sunday, with the race following on Monday.
On Friday night in Bahrain, Oscar Piastri was running down the main straight, trading positions with Yuki Tsunoda's Alpha Tauri, when Lance Stroll's Aston Martin emerged from the pit lane in front of him. Piastri avoided what would have been a heavy rear-end collision. It was one of two moments that defined the rookie's practice day ahead of the 2023 season opener.
The second came exiting turn seven, where the circuit's second sector begins with a series of tight left-right combinations. High kerbs punish any entry that is not clean. Piastri's McLaren MCL60 stepped out in a sudden burst of oversteer, and onlookers expected the car to end up in the wall. He caught it, and the session continued.
The pace was less striking than the reflexes. The Australian was 12th in the first practice session and 15th in the second. He also locked up several times into the turn one hairpin, which, the report suggests, may point to deeper balance problems with the car. Still, his composure was read as a good sign. "I feel like I'm making progress, which is good," Piastri said. He added that there are improvements still to find, that he is making a few mistakes and is not fully happy with his driving, but that the team is in a reasonable place.
Expectations around him are already high. Former driver and Sky F1 pundit Karun Chandhok said on the Sky Sports pre-season podcast that Piastri is rated higher than Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, a five-time Grand Prix winner. Chandhok said he reached that view after speaking with Piastri's former engineers at Prema Racing. Piastri has won every championship he has entered since 2019: the Formula Renault Eurocup, then Formula 3 and Formula 2. He then signed as a reserve driver with Alpine for 2022 before moving to McLaren this year.
McLaren's problem appears to be one of fine-tuning rather than fundamentals. Teammate Lando Norris was fourth fastest in the first session on long-run simulations. But in the qualifying simulations of the second session, the car dropped off significantly. Bahrain's abrasive surface demands a two-stop strategy, which may lessen the importance of qualifying, but the one-lap deficit will still concern the team.
At the top of the timesheets in FP2 was Fernando Alonso, the 41-year-old two-time world champion, who has been in Formula One longer than Piastri has been alive. Driving the Aston Martin under lights, he clocked 1:30.907 to edge out Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Stroll's evening was harder. He is returning from wrist surgery after a cycling accident, and at times he could not keep both hands on the wheel because of the pain. He was unable to take certain lines through slower corners that his engineers requested. Even so, he placed his AMR23 sixth in both Friday sessions.
Verstappen conceded that Aston Martin are quick, noting that testing had shown as much. He said they had a great day and that Red Bull have work to do. He called the first practice session really bad, saying he could not find a balance, which he found odd given how close the team looked in testing. He has never won in Bahrain, despite putting his RB16B on pole in 2021. His best finish there is second from eight starts, with four retirements and three starts from outside the top ten.
Qualifying begins at 2am AEDT on Sunday, with the race following at 2am AEDT on Monday, March 6.
Citazioni salienti
I feel like I'm making progress, which is good.— Oscar Piastri
They are quick.— Max Verstappen, on Aston Martin
Vuoi la storia completa?
Leggi l'originale su NEWS.com.au ↗
Sports