F1 test, day two am: Lewis Hamilton beats Mercedes, Daniel Ricciardo is the fastest of Fernando Alonso

Stronger race and lap times in Bahrain for McLaren and Alpine, with respective new signings Daniel Ricciardo and return of Fernando Alonso; Mercedes starts to regain mileage, but Lewis Hamilton gets into gravel

McLaren’s new star signing Daniel Ricciardo continued the promising start his team has made in F1 2021 by again leading the morning session at testing in Bahrain on Saturday.

Lewis Hamilton stranded his Mercedes with a spin on the gravel midway through the session, but it was only a brief setback as the world champions completed 58 laps, and 10 more than they did all Friday.

But they remain at the bottom of the mileage charts at the midpoint of F1’s shortened preseason program.

A gearbox change and general handling problems with the car on Friday had led Mercedes to admit they had gotten off to a “bad start” in the three-day test with their new W12 car.

Meanwhile, Fernando Alonso made a full return to F1 after two seasons absent and immediately raced competitive, completing 60 laps for his first outing in Alpine’s astonishing A521.

1:22

After two years out of F1, Fernando Alonso returns to the sport in the Alpine AF21 during the morning test session on Day 2 in Bahrain.

The 39-year-old Spaniard revealed on Friday that he would have to run the entire season with two titanium plates in his jaw after breaking and undergoing surgery in a cycling accident in Switzerland just four weeks ago.

Sergio Pérez was another rookie for a new team, with the Mexican finishing fourth fastest in the Red Bull RB16B.

Nicholas Latifi was fourth for Williams, with AlphaTauri rookie Yuki Tsunoda fifth fastest.

4:09

Seasons 1 and 2 of the hit Netflix original Drive to Survive will air on Sky Sports F1 starting Sunday at 9:30 PM. One of the series’ big stars, Haas team leader Guenther Steiner, explains it all.

But the Aston Martin team had gearbox problems and Sebastian Vettel was limited to just nine laps. With Lance Stroll scheduled to take over the car in the afternoon, four-time champion Vettel now has just four hours of track time to prepare for the Bahrain GP that opens the season for his new team on March 26-28.

Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz and Latifi also had turns amid continuous wind conditions at Sakhir.

Saturday’s test action resumes at 12pm GMT, live on Sky Sports F1.

More to follow …