A late dash from Guanyu Zhou saw Alfa Romeo marginally top the times in Bahrain on the second day of Formula 1 pre-season testing in 2023.
Zhou, one of three drivers to be given both sessions behind the wheel, clocked a 1:31.610 on the grippiest C5 compound to pip Verstappen by 0.040 seconds in the closing stages, after the reigning champion had initially led the way for most of the afternoon session.
Fernando Alonso also made use of the improved track conditions to put his Aston Martin inside the top three for the second consecutive day – the Spaniard completed an impressive haul of 130 laps in the AMR23.
Nyck de Vries and Nico Hulkenberg in the Williams and Haas cars respectively were also equipped with softer rubber at some stage to cement places inside the top five.
Following a positive opening day, Mercedes were struck by a hydraulic issue that curtailed its running with an hour and a half still to run on the clock.
| Position | Driver | Team | Time | Gap | Laps | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
|
Guanyu Zhou | Alfa Romeo | 1:31.610 | 133 | |||
| 2 |
|
Max Verstappen | Red Bull | 1:31.650 | +0.040 | 46 | ||
| 3 |
|
Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | 1:32.205 | +0.595 | 130 | ||
| 4 |
|
Nyck de Vries | AlphaTauri | 1:32.222 | +0.612 | 73 | ||
| 5 |
|
Nico Hulkenberg | Haas | 1:32.466 | +0.856 | 67 | ||
| 6 |
|
Carlos Sainz Jr | Ferrari | 1:32.486 | +0.876 | 70 | ||
| 7 |
|
Logan Sargeant | Williams | 1:32.549 | +0.939 | 154 | ||
| 8 |
|
Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | 1:32.725 | +1.115 | 67 | ||
| 9 |
|
Oscar Piastri | McLaren | 1:33.175 | +1.565 | 73 | ||
| 10 |
|
Pierre Gasly | Alpine | 1:33.186 | +1.576 | 58 | ||
| 11 |
|
Kevin Magnussen | Haas | 1:33.442 | +1.832 | 67 | ||
| 12 |
|
Esteban Ocon | Alpine | 1:33.490 | +1.880 | 49 | ||
| 13 |
|
George Russell | Mercedes | 1:33.654 | +2.044 | 26 | ||
| 14 |
|
Sergio Perez | Red Bull | 1:33.751 | +2.141 | 76 | ||
| 15 |
|
Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes | 1:33.954 | +2.344 | 72 | ||
| 16 |
|
Lando Norris | McLaren | 1:35.522 | +3.912 | 65 | ||
| 17 |
|
Yuki Tsunoda | AlphaTauri | 1:35.708 | +4.098 | 85 |
