Hamilton sets blistering pace as Formula one in-season tests wrap up at BIC

Manama, Apr. 9. (BNA) -- Lewis Hamilton capped a memorable week in Bahrain by setting a blistering pace today on the second and final day of Formula One in-season testing at Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir. After winning the first-ever Bahrain Grand Prix under floodlights on Sunday, Hamilton and his team Mercedes maintained their spectacular form by topping the past two days of testing at “The Home of Motorsport in the Middle East”. Nico Rosberg had previously put them atop the timesheet on Tuesday, and then today it was Hamilton’s turn to lead the way. Hamilton’s best time was one minute 34.136 seconds. The Briton was up to three seconds faster than the rest of the field at certain points during the day, illustrating the early dominance of Mercedes three rounds into the 2014 season. Like Rosberg before him, Hamilton was testing’s busiest man, completing 120 laps of work in the eight hours of running along BIC’s 5.412-kilometre track in his number 44 F1 W05 challenger. Hamilton was the only driver to go for over 100 laps today. Jean-Eric Vergne closed the gap to just 1.421 seconds by the end of the day. The Toro Rosso ace set his best time near the back-end of his 64-lap outing for day two. Rookie Kevin Magnussen followed 2.607s behind in his McLaren, although he had just 26 laps to his name. Force India’s Sergio Perez was next on the timesheet, clocking a mark that was 2.450s slower than Hamilton’s top time. He completed 63 laps on the day. Rounding out the top six were Daniel Ricciardo of Red Bull and Jules Bianchi of Marussia. Ricciardo was 3.174s behind the pace-setter while Bianchi was 3.180s. Ricciardo had 67 laps done for the day and Bianchi a solid 93. Completing the order of testers were Giedo van der Garde (+3.487s) for Sauber, Fernando Alonso (+3.776s) for Ferrari, Marcus Ericsson (+5.127s) for Caterham, Felipe Nasr (+5.743s) for Williams and Romain Grosjean (+9.596s) for Lotus. As part of an agreement between the Formula One teams and tyre suppliers Pirelli, Mercedes and Williams ran today’s tests exclusively for tyre development. These Bahrain sessions are one of four in-season tests on the 2014 FIA Formula One World Championship. The others are to be held in Spain, Great Britain and finally in Abu Dhabi, right after each venue’s Grand Prix. The in-season tests are the third session of its kind and fourth Formula One event overall to have taken place at BIC this year. Sakhir was the venue for a pair of four-day pre-season tests that proved crucial to the teams’ preparations for the 2014 season, and then the Bahrain Grand Prix thrilled the world only a few days back. Bahrain first hosted Formula One testing in the 2006 pre-season when the Kingdom was also selected as the host venue for the season’s opening Grand Prix. Since then, BIC has been a favourite destination for the Formula One teams to test, especially during the winter months. The Kingdom’s warm climate, long hours of daylight and minimal interruptions allow the teams to maximise their track time and gain as much valuable information about their respective cars. Moreover, the quality of service provided by BIC is unmatched and teams always appreciate the warm and friendly welcome given by the hosts. Day Two Times 1 Lewis HAMILTON GBR Mercedes GP Petronas Formula One 1:34.136 120 laps 2 Jean Eric VERGNE FRA Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:35.557 64 laps 3 Kevin MAGNUSSEN DEN McLaren Mercedes 1:36.203 26 laps 4 Sergio PEREZ MEX Sahara Force India F1 Team 1:36.586 63 laps 5 Daniel RICCIARDO AUS Infiniti Red Bull Racing 1:37.310 67 laps 6 Jules BIANCHI FRA Marussia F1 Team 1:37.316 93 laps 7 Giedo VAN DER GARDE NLD Sauber F1 Team 1:37.623 77 laps 8 14 Fernando ALONSO ESP Scuderia Ferrari 1:37.912 12 laps 9 Marcus ERICSSON SWE Caterham F1 Team 1:39.263 66 laps 10 Felipe NASR BRA Williams F1 Team 1:39.879 64 laps 11 Romain GROSJEAN FRA Lotus F1 Team 1:43.732 16 laps WHQ