Jolyon Palmer enjoyed a productive day’s running during the opening two practice sessions for this weekend’s Bahrain Grand Prix (1-3 April), chalking up more than 60 laps behind the wheel of his Renault Sport Formula One Team R.S.16. 

Windy conditions prevailed as the 22 Formula 1 cars took to Sakhir’s Bahrain International Circuit for FP1, and the young British rookie put 28 laps on the board to kick-start his on-track preparations for his second race at the pinnacle of the sport.

Data-gathering long runs, tyre compound evaluation and pit-stop practice were the order of the day – or rather, night – in the evening session, which took place under the desert floodlights once the Middle Eastern sun had set.

This time, Palmer covered 35 laps – leaving him with one of the highest totals of the day. The former GP2 Series Champion wound up 18^th-quickest, less than two tenths-of-a-second adrift of team-mate Kevin Magnussen, who qualified inside the top ten in Bahrain two years ago. 

“It was good to get a full day of running on a Friday after the rain we had in Melbourne,” reported the 25-year-old Southwater racer. “There was a big difference in temperature between both practice sessions, and with the circuit becoming less sandy and more rubber going down, the track evolution was significant. We got a decent number of laps in today and there’s plenty to get on with overnight. There’s still more to come.”

Jolyon’s Bahrain weekend continues on Saturday (2 April) with FP3 at 15:00 and qualifying at 18:00 local time.