Day 1 of first F1 2026 Bahrain pre-season test as it happened

Relive the first day of the opening F1 2026 pre-season test in Bahrain.

Key moments:

F1 world champion Norris heads day one
Verstappen tops day one morning
Audi debuts radical new sidepods
Two red flags but strong reliability

Lando Norris headed the opening day of the first official F1 pre-season test of 2026 in Bahrain.

The newly-crowned F1 world champion pipped his 2025 title rival Max Verstappen to the fastest time in his McLaren.

Verstappen set the pace in the morning session as F1 2026 preparations ramped up at the Bahrain International Circuit.

After a five-day private shakedown in Barcelona at the end of January, all 11 teams are back in action as the Bahrain International Circuit hosts two, three-day official pre-season tests over the next two weeks.

The first of which takes place between 11-13 February, before a second is held on 18-20 February.

Testing takes place between 7am and 4pm with a one-hour lunch break each day.

Lewis Larkam

11 Feb 2026

11:13

F1 2026 Bahrain pre-season testing: Max Verstappen leads first session

Max Verstappen led the first session of the Bahrain F1 test on Wednesday.

Report ✍️

F1 2026 Bahrain pre-season testing: Max Verstappen leads first session

Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing, 2026 Bahrain test
© XPB Images

11:08

Lap times from the morning session

2026 F1 Bahrain Pre-Season Test 1: Day 1 (11am)
Pos	Driver	Nat.	Team	Time	Laps
1	Max Verstappen	NED	Oracle Red Bull Racing	1m35.433s	65
2	Oscar Piastri	AUS	McLaren Mastercard F1 Team	1m35.602s	54
3	George Russell	GBR	Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team	1m36.108s	56
4	Lewis Hamilton	GBR	Scuderia Ferrari HP	1m36.433s	52
5	Esteban Ocon	FRA	TGR Haas F1 Team	1m37.169s	64
6	Arvid Lindblad	GBR	Visa Cash App Racing Bulls F1 Team	1m37.945s	75
7	Carlos Sainz	ESP	Atlassian Williams F1 Team	1m38.221s	77
8	Gabriel Bortoleto	BRA	Audi Revolut F1 Team	1m38.871s	49
9	Valtteri Bottas	FIN	Cadillac F1 Team	1m39.150s	49
10	Lance Stroll	CAN	Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team	1m39.883s	33
11	Franco Colapinto	ARG	BWT Alpine F1 Team	1m40.330s	28

11:04

Verstappen tops morning

The chequered flag is out and it is Red Bull's Max Verstappen who tops the timesheet on the first morning of running in Bahrain.

10:54

Nearly lunchtime!

Time really does fly when you are having fun! We are heading into the final 10 minutes of running on the first morning of the opening pre-season test in Bahrain.

That means it is nearly time for the one-hour lunch break. Sadly, for those of us in the UK, that comes a little early at 11am...

Not much to report happening on track at the moment in terms of lap times, but nine of the 11 drivers are adding to their mileage as we speak.

10:42

The current pacesetter

Max Verstappen leads the charge in his Red Bull Power Trains powered RB22

10:32

Hamilton finds improvement

Lewis Hamilton has improved by around a second to put himself fourth in the timesheet with less than half an hour remaining in the morning session.

Ferrari made some changes to the car during a spell in the garage and the seven-time world champion is clearly happier with how the SF-26 is driving.

Hamilton's best effort is still a full second down on Max Verstappen, mind.

10:28

Team lap count:

Racing Bulls - 61

Williams - 60

Red Bull - 56

Haas - 47

Mercedes - 43

McLaren - 42

Cadillac - 40

Ferrari - 35

Audi - 32

Aston Martin - 30

Alpine - 28

10:11

Audi turn heads with radical new sidepod

Audi have been the talk of the paddock on the opening morning of pre-season testing in Bahrain.

The German manufacturer turned heads when their R26 hit the track with a striking new sidepod concept.

10:01

Lap times after three hours

2026 F1 Bahrain Pre-Season Test 1: Day 1 (10am)
Pos	Driver	Nat.	Team	Time	Laps
1	Max Verstappen	NED	Oracle Red Bull Racing	1m35.433s	42
2	Oscar Piastri	AUS	McLaren Mastercard F1 Team	1m35.711s	35
3	George Russell	GBR	Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team	1m36.923s	31
4	Esteban Ocon	FRA	TGR Haas F1 Team	1m37.484s	38
5	Lewis Hamilton	GBR	Scuderia Ferrari HP	1m37.588s	31
6	Arvid Lindblad	GBR	Visa Cash App Racing Bulls F1 Team	1m37.945s	54
7	Carlos Sainz	ESP	Atlassian Williams F1 Team	1m38.221s	54
8	Gabriel Bortoleto	BRA	Audi Revolut F1 Team	1m39.281s	25
9	Valtteri Bottas	FIN	Cadillac F1 Team	1m39.646s	35
10	Lance Stroll	CAN	Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team	1m39.883s	30
11	Franco Colapinto	ARG	BWT Alpine F1 Team	1m40.330s	28

09:41

Piastri closes in on Verstappen

Oscar Piastri gets within three tenths of Max Verstappen's benchmark by joining the Red Bull driver in the 1m35s. Piastri sets a 1m35.711s with medium tyres on his McLaren.

09:35

Mercedes' W17 heads out

The ominous Mercedes W17 makes its way onto the track.

Have a listen to that engine.

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09:29

Team lap count:

Williams - 43 laps

Red Bull - 40 laps

Racing Bulls - 39 laps

Ferrari - 31 laps

Haas - 31 laps

Mercedes - 30 laps

McLaren - 25 laps

Cadillac - 25 laps

Audi - 24 laps

Alpine - 17 laps

09:22

F1's engine compression ration debate rages on

The debate over F1’s engine compression ratio loophole has dragged into pre-season testing, with Aston Martin's Adrian Newey revealing only "one manufacturer" isn't aligned on the matter.

Adrian Newey singles out “one manufacturer” not aligned amid F1 engine debate

Adrian Newey, Aston Martin F1 team, 2026 Bahrain test
© XPB Images

09:21

Hamilton improves

Lewis Hamilton has improved to fourth on the timesheet with a 1m37.588s.

The Ferrari driver remains over two seconds off the pace set by Max Verstappen, but Hamilton has completed some solid mileage, racking up 31 laps so far this morning.

09:16

Audi's striking sidepods

Audi's eye-catching sidepod design has grabbed attention on day one. Here's a closer look at them