PRACTICE: Hadjar sets pace in opening practice session of 2024

Isack Hadjar made a fine start to the opening round of the weekend in Sakhir by topping the timesheets in Free Practice in preparation for Qualifying later today.

The Campos Racing driver left it late in the session to complete a lap of 1:45.099 to lead MP Motorsport rookie Franco Colapinto by 0.137s.

As the lights turned green, most teams opted to keep their cars in the pitlane although Hadjar was the first driver out on track to complete a lap. However, it was his Campos teammate Josep María Martí who set the early benchmark with a time of 1:45.849.

But then came the Rodin Motorsport pair of Zane Maloney and Ritomo Miyata, with the former going to the top of the leaderboard with a time of 1:45.588 – the latter 0.092s behind in second.

With the session winding down to a close and the drivers now returning to the track for a final few laps, Hadjar secured top spot.

Colapinto enjoyed a fine start in his own regard to place second, followed by Maloney and Miyata, the second MP car of Dennis Hauger rounding out the top five.

Qualifying from the Bahrain International Circuit is set to begin at 16:55 local time later today.