On the second day of F1 pre-season testing in Bahrain, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc topped the timesheets ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris, despite rivals Mercedes and Red Bull suffering technical problems.
After Norris set the pace on the first day of three days of track action at the Bahrain International Circuit, Leclerc on Thursday recorded a lap of 1 minute 34.273 seconds in the morning session, shaving almost four-tenths off the event’s benchmark time.
Norris’ best time was half a second off Leclerc’s and 10 seconds slower than his best effort from the previous day, but perhaps more importantly, both McLaren and Ferrari enjoyed another solid run as F1 continues its extended pre-season schedule aimed at giving teams a chance to adapt to the introduction of new power units and chassis regulations for the 2026 season.
Both drivers ran a full day, with Norris completing 149 laps and Leclerc running a full race simulation in the afternoon session, managing 139 laps.
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Lando Norris got too close to George Russell and his tires locked, so he had to take evasive action
“We completed the program without any problems, which is always a positive thing,” said Leclerc after this week’s run.
“It’s always good to see lap times, but in testing it doesn’t mean much. The focus has to remain on ourselves and our work.
“The car feels fine, but it’s still in the early stages. It was important today to get as many laps as possible and complete all the tests we had planned. We’re just continuing to work and building step by step.”
Mercedes and Red Bull, who have so far received more attention than the other two teams in F1’s Big Four, have both been hit by problems during pre-season, which began with a shakedown in Barcelona last month.
Kimi Antonelli was unable to set a time for Mercedes in the morning session as a power unit problem meant he only competed at three circuits in the morning session. Additionally, due to a hydraulic leak, Red Bull’s Izak Hajar was forced to compete in a solo installation lap just before the lunch break.
Both drivers were able to recover in the afternoon, with George Russell completing 54 laps in Antonelli’s place and taking fourth place on the timesheets, while Hajar had a productive afternoon with 87 laps.
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Max Verstappen reflects on Red Bull’s impressive laps in pre-season testing in Bahrain
While the afternoon’s recovery suggests that Mercedes and Red Bull have been able to overcome their problems, Ferrari’s current perfect reliability record will only help Lewis Hamilton’s attempts to fine-tune the SF-26 on Friday as the event draws to a close.
McLaren, which is aiming for its third consecutive constructors’ championship and is led by reigning world champion Norris, has also shown a very consistent performance since suffering early problems in Barcelona.
After a further eight hours of driving on Friday, there will be a further three days of testing in Bahrain from February 18-20, before the season begins with the Australian Grand Prix from March 6-8.
Stroll raises concerns about Aston Martin’s pace, run halted by three red flags
Thursday’s running was fruitful for most of the 11-team grid, with all teams except Red Bull and Mercedes completing over 90 laps.
However, on this day, red flags were brought out three times due to incidents on the course.
Cadillac’s new team caused two suspensions. The first time was in the morning when Sergio Perez stopped on the track, and the second time in the afternoon when Valtteri Bottas was driving when his side mirror fell off and was caused by debris.
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Ted Kravitz looks back on each team’s performance on the second day of testing in Bahrain.
However, the all-new team’s time away from the track was short on both occasions, with Perez and Bottas completing 107 laps in the Ferrari-powered Challenger.
Alpine, with Pierre Gasly, looked set to become the first team to reach a double century, but they finished three short of the mark after 97 laps as Gasly was instructed to stop his car as a precaution in mid-afternoon after the team discovered an anomaly in the data. Gasly did not return to the track.
Meanwhile, Aston Martin completed 98 laps on Fernando Alonso’s first run of the week, completing the most laps in a day in the first Adrian Newey-designed car.
Aston Martin says it is still learning about the car, which is also its first Honda-powered Challenger, but Alonso’s fastest attempt was four seconds off Leclerc’s benchmark, and teammate Lance Stroll, who drove the car on Wednesday, said during the day:
“It’s impossible to know what kind of fuel people are running on, but yeah, right now we have to try to find four-second performance, so let’s see.”
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 launches a new era of charging modes, more power, new teams and engine suppliers
Test 1: Friday, February 13th
3pm: Final Hours of Track Driving Live 8pm: Test Lap 8:30pm: Ted’s Test Notebook
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
