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Two days at the top for Sergio Pérez in Bahrain - Red Bull have a better day's running, as fires hit two teams

Published by Christine

Toro Rosso still find themselves short on pace
Toro Rosso still find themselves short on paceCredit: Shaun Boterill/Getty Images
Fireproof clothing could prove essential with Renault power
Fireproof clothing could prove essential with Renault powerCredit: Alastair Staley/Lotus F1
The Pirelli rubber is race simulation ready
The Pirelli rubber is race simulation readyCredit: Pirelli S.p.A.
Alonso puts in the most miles on day two
Alonso puts in the most miles on day twoCredit: Ercole Colombo

Sergio Pérez made it two days in a row at the top of the timesheets, posting the fastest time early on and retaining the position throughout the day. Fernando Alonso was less than a tenth of a second behind him, but it was third place that caught most of the attention. Red Bull had a far better day, with Daniel Ricciardo completing 66 laps and finishing within two tenths of a second of Pérez.

Further back, Mercedes had a few mechanical troubles, with Lewis Hamilton ending up in the gravel first thing and then rounding out the day with a gearbox problem. Jenson Button, in the Mercedes-powered McLaren could only complete 52 laps as his car also developed trouble with the gearbox.

We were still able to do a long-run on high-fuel this afternoon. The basic car is good, and there’s a great deal of potential there, but there’s still a lot of work to do. We have a good understanding of the power-unit, and we know how to race it, but, in terms of balance and grip, the car isn’t quite there yet.

- Jenson Button, F1 driver, McLaren

Marussia continued their forward progress and managed to complete 75 laps, their best mileage to date in 2014 pre-season testing. The team were concentrating on shorter runs in the morning, with longer race simulations in the afternoon, and they managed to finish firmly in the middle of the timesheet.

2014 testing - Day 6, Bahrain
PosDriverTeamTimeLaps
1S PérezSahara Force India F1 Team1:35.570108
2F AlonsoScuderia Ferrari1:35.634122
3D RicciardoInfiniti Red Bull Racing1:35.74366
4F MassaWilliams F1 Team1:36.507103
5J ButtonMcLaren Mercedes1:36.90152
6J BianchiMarussia F1 Team1:38.09275
7L HamiltonMercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team1:39.04189
8JE VergneScuderia Toro Rosso1:39.63661
9E GutiérrezSauber F1 Team1:39.976106
10P MaldonadoLotus F1 Team1:41.61331
11M EricssonCaterham F1 Team1:42.51655

Lotus and Caterham brought up the rear of the pack, and whilst Red Bull may have had a more encouraging day, the two other Renault powered cars struggled. Both Pastor Maldonado and Marcus Ericsson found their cars on fire at various points throughout the day, adding to the overall four red flags tally.

The 100-lap mark is crossed in style by Checo, who heads into the triple figures for the second day in a row! #FeelTheForce

clubforce clubforce

Temperatures have dropped a little due to cloud cover, with a mild head wind heading into T1. The weather, sponsored by @MercedesAMGF1...

MercedesAMGF1 MercedesAMGF1

Really good day :) Getting there with @Marussia_F1Team ! Now we need another good one tomorrow. Good nighttttt !

Jules_Bianchi Jules_Bianchi

Somewhat appropriately we're having barbecue for dinner on track.....

CaterhamF1 CaterhamF1

Two more days remain, giving teams a few more opportunities to top up their mileage totals and squeeze in a couple more race simulations. At this point, we'd usually start paying more attention to the actual lap times, still with the huge pinch of salt, but this year it doesn't seem as though the teams, even the Mercedes powered ones, are anywhere near ready to be putting the hammer down.

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