Carlos Sainz, Lewis Hamilton Top Timings On Day 2 Of F1 Testing

Carlos Sainz put in a double shift at pre-season Formula 1 testing on Thursday, the Spaniard topping the times after covering twice the usual Bahrain grand prix race distance of 57 laps at the wheel of his new Williams. Sainz clocked 1min 29.348sec for the quickest lap on the middle day of three as the grid continued its preparations for the March 16 season-opener in Australia Lewis Hamilton, whose stunning move to Ferrari set in motion Sainz's arrival at the British team, looked in good shape again with the seven-time world champion only 0.031sec off the pace.

In a sign that Sainz's old team appear ready to hit the ground running in Melbourne, Charles Leclerc hauled the other Ferrari into third at 0.083sec.

Hamilton cut a contented figure at a press conference after his stint, the ex-Mercedes man looking relaxed in red.

"I am really enjoying the car. We're slowly bonding," said the 40-year-old.

"Bit by bit, I'm just eking out a little bit more each time. All the settings are so different" (from the Mercedes he had driven since 2013) Hamilton added.

"It's not necessarily unlearning what I did before, but kind of relearning this new way of working and the way the car likes to be driven, as it likes to be driven differently. That's a really fun journey, learning that."

Mercedes duo George Russell and Kimi Antonelli came next on the timesheets ahead of Lance Stroll's Aston Martin and the Red Bull of Liam Lawson with that team's four-time world champion Max Verstappen given the day off.

'Respect each other'

One driver hoping to deny the Dutchman a fifth successive crown is McLaren's Lando Norris.

Last year's championship runner-up, over a second and a half behind Sainz on Thursday, said he had no beef with Verstappen after