Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, Bahrain International Circuit, 2026 pre-season test

Mercedes and Red Bull’s new Formula 1 cars were hardly seen on the morning of the second day of testing in Bahrain.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Isack Hadjar spent much of the opening four hours at the Bahrain International Circuit confined to their garages. Hadjar spent the time waiting for Red Bull’s mechanics to fix a hydraulic leak on his car and only left the pits for a single installation lap moments before the lunch break began.

At Mercedes, Antonelli’s hopes of covering more than the 30 laps he managed yesterday were dashed by more trouble with the W17. He completed just three tours of the track.

Mercedes’ trio of customer teams ran more reliably, all covering more than a grand prix distance before the lunch break. However Charles Leclerc in the Ferrari beat the trio to the fastest time, half a second faster than Lando Norris in the McLaren. His 1’34.273 was also three tenths of a second quicker than Norris’s benchmark effort from yesterday.

Aston Martin managed more significant mileage than yesterday, though Fernando Alonso was the slowest of those who set times, nearly five seconds off Leclerc’s pace. Sergio Perez was slightly quicker in the Cadillac after causing a red flag with an early stoppage.

Bahrain test day two, part one times

Pos.Car numberDriverTeamModelBest timeGapLaps
116Charles LeclercFerrariSF-261’34.27362
21Lando NorrisMcLarenMCL401’34.7840.51164
310Pierre GaslyAlpineA5261’36.7232.45061
487Oliver BearmanHaasVF-261’37.0252.75255
523Alexander AlbonWilliamsFW481’37.2292.95662
627Nico HulkenbergAudiR261’37.2662.99347
730Liam LawsonRacing Bulls031’38.0173.74450
811Sergio PerezCadillac1’38.6534.38042
914Fernando AlonsoAston MartinAMR261’38.9604.68755
1012Andrea Kimi AntonelliMercedesW173
116Isack HadjarRed BullRB221

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