The Mercedes drivers occupied the top two places on the times sheets as Formula 1’s second pre-season test concluded in Bahrain.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli took over from George Russell halfway through today’s test and took almost a quarter of a second off his benchmark time. The 19-year-old left the quickest time of the test at a 1’33.669, just under four seconds off last year’s pole position time.

No one else beat Russell’s time from the first four hours of running. Lewis Hamilton therefore ended the test in third place with a best time of 1’34.209 in his Ferrari. He also caused a red flag when his SF-26 came to a stop in the final minutes of the session.

Hamilton logged 150 laps over his full day in the car but was outdone by Oscar Piastri who logged a mammoth 161 laps – 10 short of three grand prix distances – in his McLaren. He also set the fourth-fastest time, followed by the two Red Bull drivers.

The Haas pair also appeared in the top 10, separated by Franco Colapinto who had a full day in the Alpine. Nico Hulkenberg was 10th for Audi.

Of the 17 drivers who took part in the test, Valtteri Bottas was slowest following his stoppage earlier in the day. Lance Stroll, who spent the whole day in the Aston Martin, managed less than half as many laps as most other full-day drivers and ended the day almost four-and-a-half seconds off the best time.

Test two, day three times

Pos. Car number Driver Team Model Best time Gap Laps
1 12 Andrea Kimi Antonelli Mercedes W17 1’33.669 61
2 63 George Russell Mercedes W17 1’33.918 0.249 78
3 44 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari SF-26 1’34.209 0.540 150
4 81 Oscar Piastri McLaren MCL40 1’34.549 0.880 161
5 3 Max Verstappen Red Bull RB22 1’35.341 1.672 61
6 6 Isack Hadjar Red Bull RB22 1’35.610 1.941 59
7 31 Esteban Ocon Haas VF-26 1’35.753 2.084 75
8 43 Franco Colapinto Alpine A526 1’35.806 2.137 144
9 87 Oliver Bearman Haas VF-26 1’35.972 2.303 70
10 27 Nico Hulkenberg Audi R26 1’36.291 2.622 58
11 23 Alexander Albon Williams FW48 1’36.793 3.124 78
12 30 Liam Lawson Racing Bulls 03 1’36.808 3.139 119
13 55 Carlos Sainz Jnr Williams FW48 1’37.186 3.517 68
14 11 Sergio Perez Cadillac 1’37.365 3.696 67
15 5 Gabriel Bortoleto Audi R26 1’37.536 3.867 60
16 18 Lance Stroll Aston Martin AMR26 1’38.165 4.496 72
17 77 Valtteri Bottas Cadillac 1’38.772 5.103 37

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