BAHRAN TEST TWO – Charles Leclerc fastest eight and three-quarters tenths ahead of Lando Norris on the final day
Charles Leclerc was fastest on the final day of pre-season testing at the Bahrain International Circuit. The Ferrari driver managed a hundred and fifty-two laps with a best time of 31.992, which put him eight and three-quarters tenths faster than McLaren’s Lando Norris.
Leclerc set the fastest time of testing with a one-and-a-half-second improvement on the C3 harder medium tyre, but when he switched to the softer medium, he improved by a further three tenths. Though there could be more time, as this was done in the middle of the six compounds.
The Ferrari had looked strong throughout the final test, with decent performance, with Leclerc’s fastest time coming during the final hour. The Scuderia is heading to Melbourne after a slow build but consistent improvement over the fortnight in Sakhir, perhaps a rival to the favourites, Mercedes.
Ferrari elected to run Leclerc throughout Friday, with Lewis Hamilton watching on from the garage, and the Monegasque driver also impressed with his race simulation on the last day. Max Verstappen put his Red Bull third, but despite appearing to push during the qualifying hour for the Grand Prix, the Red Bull-Ford power unit doesn’t yet appear to be a match for Ferrari or Mercedes.
George Russell put his Mercedes fourth, nearly a tenth of Verstappen, but it appears Mercedes weren’t showing their full hand. The second test in Sakhir has been more difficult for the team. Kimi Antonelli completed less than a race distance during the morning before a loss of pneumatic pressure and consequently had to undergo a power unit change.
The issues have strangely only affected the works Mercedes team, Pierre Gasly racking up a hundred and fifty-two laps on his way to fifth, the Alpine a quarter of a second behind Russell. Mercedes remains the favourite going into 2026, with the big question will be whether they were sandbagging
Gasly was seven hundredths faster than the Haas of Ollie Bearman, with the Audi of Gabriel Bortoletto three hundredths further behind. Gasly’s effort came during ‘qualifying hour’ on the second softest tyre, though Bearman’s time is not directly comparable as it was on the harder medium tyre.
Antonelli put himself eighth fastest, nearly two seconds off the outright pace of Leclerc during his half a session. Arvid Lindblad put himself ninth for Racing Bulls, going two tenths faster than Carlos Sainz, Lindblad completing a hundred and sixty-five laps as they rounded the top ten.
Oscar Piastri missed out on the top ten by three thousandths of a second during his morning stint. The Australian managed sixty-six laps, going just under a tenth and a half faster than Esteban Ocon.
Isack Hadjar put his Red Bull thirteenth; he was just under two hundredths faster than Valtteri Bottas. Nico Hulkenberg put his Audi between the Cadillac’s; he was three hundredths behind Bottas and comfortably ahead of Sergio Perez. Stroll’s problems left him bottom with two laps.
Attention now turns to Melbourne and the opening round of the season, where teams will have three hours of practice before it begins to matter in qualifying in a fortnight’s time.
Related
- BAHRAN TEST TWO – Kimi Antonelli fastest ahead of Oscar Piastri with fastest time of testing by six hundredths
- BAHRAN TEST TWO – George Russell fastest on opening day, a hundredth faster than Oscar Piastri
- BAHRAIN TEST ONE – Kimi Antonelli leads Mercedes one-two by a quarter of a second on final day
- BAHRAIN TEST ONE – Charles Leclerc fastest on the second day, half a second ahead of Lando Norris
- BAHRAIN TEST ONE – Lando Norris fastest by over a tenth on the opening day of testing
- PRIXVIEW – Bahrain Pre-Season Tests