CARLOS GOES QUICKEST

There was just a touch of irony in the results from the second day of pre-season Formula One testing.

Carlos Sainz – dumped by Ferrari at the start of 2024 and forced to endure a punishing final year at the reds – went quickest.

Not just quickest, but quickest for last year's tail-enders, Williams.

And quicker than . . . Ferrari.

Sainz quickest lap, at 1 minute 29.348 seconds, was also quicker than Williams managed during qualifying for last year's Bahrain Grand Prix at the same circuit.

Jack Doohan was eighth quickest for Alpine and Oscar Piastri was 13th but, importantly, a little quicker than his McLaren team mate Lando Norris who set the fastest time on the first day of testing.

There is only one day of track time left before F1 teams return to base and pack for the long haul down to Albert Park for the Australian Grand Prix.

But . . .

There could still be a sting in the tail, with talk at Bahrain that Red Bull will not add the final updates to their 2025 contender until the last minute.

That could also explain why newbie Liam Lawson was given all the track time on Day 2, leaving a full day for Max Verstappen to close out the test.