Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli and George Russell set the fastest time ahead of Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton on the final day of the first Bahrain test, amid continued arguments and counterarguments from F1’s four leading teams as to who will be the real protagonists in early 2026.
Russell took the lead in the Friday morning session with a then-best fastest lap in testing at 1 minute 33.918 seconds, and teammate Antonelli improved his time twice during the afternoon session.
The Italian youngster ended up clocking a time of 1:33.669, setting a benchmark for his first week of running in Sakhir.
Hamilton raced all day in his Ferrari SF-26, setting a time of 1:34.209, the third-best time recorded on his morning run.
The seven-time world champion completed a whopping 138 laps, but his day ended a bit early as he ran out of fuel with just over 10 minutes left in the afternoon session and was forced to park in the run-off area.
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Lewis Hamilton’s final session was cut short after a car problem led to a red flag.
McLaren’s Oscar Piastri was also busy all day, finishing fourth after 153 laps in the world champion MCL40, but eight tenths slower than Antonelli.
Red Bull split the running between Max Verstappen and Isak Hajkar, who both topped the timesheets on Friday, with both drivers finishing fifth and sixth respectively, more than 1.5 seconds off Antonelli’s time.
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Isak Hajar was not in his position, but directly in front of the Mercedes pit box.
However, echoing comments made by team principal Toto Wolff on Wednesday, Russell said Red Bull and the first-ever power unit were indeed the winning combination heading into next week’s final test.
“Probably everyone’s biggest concern is that Red Bull’s performance, especially engine-wise, seems to be better than everyone else,” Russell suggested.
Russell added to written media: “The deployment (of energy) in one lap is about 0.5 seconds to 1 second.
“So it’s pretty scary to see the difference.”
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George Russell has admitted that Mercedes suffered reliability issues during the first Bahrain test.
But Red Bull themselves continue to point out that the bookmakers’ title contenders Mercedes have the best package yet, while both Russell and McLaren’s Lando Norris say they are increasing Ferrari’s pace after Leclerc’s eye-catching long afternoon run on Thursday.
Red Bull technical director Pierre Waschet said: “Ferrari was fast, but in today’s poor conditions Mercedes was clearly very fast in one lap.
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Red Bull technical director Pierre Wash feels that Mercedes, McLaren and Ferrari are at the top of the list in comparison.
“It’s hard to judge, but we seem to be behind. We also did race simulation yesterday, so there are some things we need to improve on. Mercedes, McLaren and Ferrari are at the top.”
Sky Sports F1’s Ted Kravitz quipped: “Among the top four teams, it’s a matter of passing the parcel!” They each try to downplay the claim that they have the fastest car ever.
What else happened on the last day?
With one test remaining before the Australian Grand Prix on March 6-8, there is great uncertainty about the top positions, but what became clear after the second week of running with the new-generation machines was that last season’s top four teams remain at the top of the table.
But the battle for next best power seems less clear-cut.
However, the Ferrari-powered Haas capped an impressive second test with the VF-26 car on Friday, with Esteban Ocon and Oliver Bearman setting the seventh and ninth fastest laps respectively.
Bearman logged 70 laps in the car in the morning, with Ocon adding 68 laps in the afternoon.
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Hear how F1 drivers singled out each other during the first Bahrain pre-season test this week and see who impressed.
Alpine also enjoyed a strong finale this week. This was especially encouraging for them after the A526 stopped on track due to a technical glitch during the first two days of testing.
Franco Colapinto completed 137 laps in eight hours, but was caught up in a bizarre moment near the end of the session when the Argentine nearly crashed into the barrier as he tried to line up in his grid box as the field lined up for the start of practice on the pit straight under a scheduled red flag.
Williams (139 laps), Racing Bulls (113 laps) and Audi (109 laps) also racked up centuries on Friday, but Cadillac fell just one lap short with 99 laps after Valtteri Bottas lost time in the morning when he stopped on track and caused a red flag.
But Aston Martin completed a minimum of 69 laps, and Lance Stroll’s 16th fastest time matched exactly the four-and-a-half second gap to the leaders that he suggested in a media interview on Thursday that the new Honda-powered AMR26 was amazing at the moment.
It’s unlikely that their true deficit will be proven before the first race in Melbourne, where team principal and design chief Adrian Newey has already promised upgrades, but Fernando Alonso told Sky Sports when asked about the team’s future work: “Certainly we need to integrate the[Honda]power unit a little bit and the gearbox, which is a first for Aston Martin.”
“But I think aerodynamics and engine performance will still dominate lap times, so that’s where we need to get more performance.
“We don’t know exactly where we are yet, we’ll probably have a clearer picture next week, but at the moment our focus is on these two areas.
Sky Sports F1 Bahrain test schedule
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Sky Sports F1’s Ted Kravitz takes a closer look at what F1 will look like in 2026 as the sport begins a new era of charging mode, more power, new teams and engine suppliers.
Test 2: Wednesday 18th, Thursday 19th, Friday 20th February
6:50am to 11:05am: Morning session live 11:55am to 4:10pm: Afternoon session live 8pm: Test lap
Watch every race of the 2026 F1 season live on Sky Sports, including the Australian Grand Prix from March 6-8. Stream Sky Sports now – cancel anytime with no contract
