Mercedes’ George Russell beat McLaren’s Oscar Piastri by one hundredth of a second as the final pre-season Formula test ahead of the 2026 FIA Formula One World Championship got underway at the Bahrain International Circuit. Third place on the timesheet went to Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.

Russell posted a lap of 1:33.459 in the afternoon session, with the British driver using Pirelli’s C3 compound tyres for the day’s best time. That put him 0.01 ahead of Piastri who used the same compound for his best time. 

Leclerc, meanwhile, set his third-place time in the morning, with the Monegasque driver using a prototype Pirelli compound to set a time of 1:33.739s. The afternoon session was less successful for team-mate Lewis Hamilton with the seven-time champion missing a large chunk of track time as an unspecified technical issue kept him in the garage. He eventually amassed a total of 44 laps and a b best time of 1:34.299 to take seventh place in the order, 0.840 off former team-mate Russell. 

Behind Leclerc, world champion Lando Norris was fourth, a little over three tenths of a second behind McLaren team-mate Piastri, while Kimi Antonelli, who topped the final day of the first test, completed the top five order with a lap of 1:34.158. 

Isack Hadjar, who was pencilled in for the whole day at Red Bull Racing, finished sixth, though Frenchman had to wait some time to set the lap. A technical gremlin halted him almost as soon as he left the pits in the morning, and he only managed 13 laps before the lunch break. He posted another 53 in the afternoon and eventually got down to 1:34.260 by the end of the session. 

The Red Bull Racing driver wasn’t the only driver suffer problems on day one. 

At Aston Martin, Fernando Alonso kicked off proceedings and the Spanish veteran posted a best time of 1:36.536 across 28 laps, some three seconds off Russell’s table topper. However, a power unit issue an hour before lunch sent him back to the garage and the car would not emerge for another four hours. Lance Stroll took over driving duties but the Canadian then brought out red flag when what looked a mechanical problem sent him into a spin at Turn 10. Another spell in the garage followed and in total the team managed just 54 laps. 

F1 newcomers Cadillac also lost running time in both sessions. Sergio Pérez managed just 24 laps, with team-mate Valtteri Bottas adding another 35. 

Finally, at the end of running, a start sequence was simulated at the very end of the day. This involved a red flag being shown, under which all cars returned to the pit lane. The cars then completed two formations laps before lining up on the grid for a simulated race start. With all cars in position, a new Pre-Start Warning began with all grid panels will flashing blue for five seconds. After the blue warning ended, the usual start sequence began. The procedure went smoothly and none of the 10 cars stalled when the lights went out.

2026 FIA Formula 1 Pre-Season Test, Bahrain 2 – Day One 
1 George Russell Mercedes 1:33.459  76
2 Oscar Piastri McLaren / Mercedes 1:33.469 0.010 70
3 Charles Leclerc Ferrari 1:33.739 0.280 70
4 Lando Norris McLaren / Mercedes 1:34.052 0.593 54
5 Kimi Antonelli Mercedes 1:34.158 0.699 69
6 Isack Hadjar Red Bull / Red Bull Ford 1:34.260 0.801 66
7 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari 1:34.299 0.840 44
8 Carlos Sainz Williams / Mercedes 1:35.113 1.654 55
9 Franco Colapinto Alpine / Mercedes 1:35.254 1.795 60
10 Gabriel Bortoleto Audi 1:35.263 1.804 71
11 Alexander Albon Williams / Mercedes 1:35.690 2.231 55
12 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls / Red Bull Ford 1:35.753 2.294 61
13 Oliver Bearman Haas / Ferrari 1:35.778 2.319 42
14 Pierre Gasly Alpine / Mercedes 1:35.898 2.439 61
15 Lance Stroll Aston Martin / Honda 1:35.974 2.515 26
16 Esteban Ocon Haas / Ferrari 1:36.418 2.959 65
17 Fernando Alonso Aston Martin / Honda 1:36.536 3.077 28
18 Nico Hulkenberg Audi 1:36.741 3.282 49
19 Arvid Lindblad Racing Bulls / Red Bull Ford 1:36.769 3.310 75
20 Valtteri Bottas Cadillac / Ferrari 1:36.798 3.339 35
21 Sergio Perez Cadillac / Ferrari 1:38.191 4.732 24