14:17
Bearman and Haas are leading the way today in terms of mileage. He's up to 102 laps.
Charles Leclerc
Day 2 of first F1 2026 Bahrain pre-season test as it happened
Recap the second day of the opening F1 2026 pre-season test in Bahrain.
Key moments:
- Charles Leclerc produces fastest lap of test so far for Ferrari
- Mercedes and Red Bull recover from disrupted start
- Two red flags caused by Cadillac
- Pierre Gasly stoppage brings out third red flag
Charles Leclerc lowered the benchmark for F1 2026 pre-season testing on the second day of running in Bahrain.
Mercedes and Red Bull were sidelined by problems with their cars, while there were three red flags. Two were caused by Cadillac, with Alpine's Pierre Gasly bringing out the third when he stopped in the afternoon.
Leclerc and Isack Hadjar completed full days for Ferrari and Red Bull, with their respective teammates Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen watching on from the sidelines.
Preparations for the new F1 campaign are ramping up as official pre-season testing continues in Bahrain.
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.
12 Feb 2026
14:10
Pretty busy out there just now.
Leclerc, Norris, Russell, Bearman, Bortoleto, Hadjar, Alonso, Linblad and Bottas all circulating.
14:01
Lap times after two hours in the afternoon
| 2026 F1 Bahrain Pre-Season Test 1: Day 2 (2pm) | |||||
| Pos | Driver | Nat. | Team | Time | Laps |
| 1 | Charles Leclerc | MON | Scuderia Ferrari HP | 1m34.273s | 80 |
| 2 | Lando Norris | GBR | McLaren Mastercard F1 Team | 1m34.784s | 88 |
| 3 | George Russell | GBR | Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team | 1m36.458s | 16 |
| 4 | Pierre Gasly | FRA | BWT Alpine F1 Team | 1m36.723s | 97 |
| 5 | Ollie Bearman | GBR | TGR Haas F1 Team | 1m37.025s | 92 |
| 6 | Alex Albon | THA | Atlassian Williams F1 Team | 1m37.229s | 62 |
| 7 | Nico Hulkenberg | GER | Audi Revolut F1 Team | 1m37.266s | 47 |
| 8 | Gabriel Bortoleto | BRA | Audi Revolut F1 Team | 1m37.977s | 25 |
| 9 | Liam Lawson | NZL | Visa Cash App Racing Bulls F1 Team | 1m38.017s | 50 |
| 10 | Sergio Perez | MEX | Cadillac F1 Team | 1m38.653s | 42 |
| 11 | Isack Hadjar | FRA | Oracle Red Bull Racing | 1m38.888s | 41 |
| 12 | Fernando Alonso | ESP | Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team | 1m38.960s | 77 |
| 13 | Arvid Lindblad | GBR | Visa Cash App Racing Bulls F1 Team | 1m40.686s | 37 |
| 14 | Valtteri Bottas | FIN | Cadillac F1 Team | 1m41.113s | 22 |
| 15 | Carlos Sainz | ESP | Atlassian Williams F1 Team | 1m41.257s | 21 |
| 16 | Kimi Antonelli | ITA | Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team | No time set | 3 |
14:00
Green flag
And we're back underway again, after Gasly's car was quickly recovered.
13:56
Gasly stops on track
The red flag is for Pierre Gasly, who has stopped at Turn 1.
13:53
Red flag
We have our third red flag of the day. No info yet on why.
13:45
Green flag
The debris looks to be a wing mirror that's fallen from Bottas' car, but we're back to green now.
13:39
It appears there is some debris on track.
13:37
Red flag
Red flag! All cars have made it back to the pits, so it's not clear at this stage what the second stoppage of the day is for.
A marshal holds out a red flag
13:25
George Russell makes a big jump up the leaderboard to put his Mercedes third with a 1m36.458s. That's still some two seconds off the pace set by Ferrari's Charles Leclerc.
George Russell
13:18
Meanwhile, Isack Hadjar jumps up to P9 for Red Bull with a 1m38.888s on his 28th tour of the Bahrain International Circuit.
13:16
George Russell wastes no time getting some early lap times on the board. The Briton manages a 1m41.195s to go 13th, ahead of Carlos Sainz's Williams and Cadillac's Valtteri Bottas, both of whom have also recently entered the fray.
13:13
Mercedes on track!
For the first time since early this morning, the Mercedes is out on track in the hands of George Russell.
Teammmate Kimi Antonelli managed just three laps before an engine issue forced him to return to the garage, where Mercedes carried out a complete power unit change over the following hours. After spending pretty much the whole morning sidelined, the W17 finally rejoins the action.
13:08
Isack Hadjar has been busy in the first hour of the afternoon, racking up over 20 laps as Red Bull look to make up for lost time this morning. Here is Hadjar carrying out a practice pit stop following the lunch break.
Hadjar
13:01
Lap times an hour into the afternoon
| 2026 F1 Bahrain Pre-Season Test 1: Day 2 (1pm) | |||||
| Pos | Driver | Nat. | Team | Time | Laps |
| 1 | Charles Leclerc | MON | Scuderia Ferrari HP | 1m34.273s | 68 |
| 2 | Lando Norris | GBR | McLaren Mastercard F1 Team | 1m34.784s | 76 |
| 3 | Pierre Gasly | FRA | BWT Alpine F1 Team | 1m36.723s | 77 |
| 4 | Ollie Bearman | GBR | TGR Haas F1 Team | 1m37.025s | 76 |
| 5 | Alex Albon | THA | Atlassian Williams F1 Team | 1m37.229s | 62 |
| 6 | Nico Hulkenberg | GER | Audi Revolut F1 Team | 1m37.266s | 47 |
| 7 | Liam Lawson | NZL | Visa Cash App Racing Bulls F1 Team | 1m38.017s | 50 |
| 8 | Sergio Perez | MEX | Cadillac F1 Team | 1m38.653s | 42 |
| 9 | Fernando Alonso | ESP | Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team | 1m38.960s | 62 |
| 10 | Isack Hadjar | FRA | Oracle Red Bull Racing | 1m40.014s | 17 |
| 11 | Gabriel Bortoleto | BRA | Audi Revolut F1 Team | 1m40.571s | 7 |
| 12 | Arvid Lindblad | GBR | Visa Cash App Racing Bulls F1 Team | 1m40.686s | 11 |
| 13 | Kimi Antonelli | ITA | Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team | No time set | 3 |
| 14 | Valtteri Bottas | FIN | Cadillac F1 Team | No time set | 3 |
12:47
Look who has served up an appearance
Tennis men's world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz has popped into the F1 paddock to meet fellow Spaniards Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz in their respective garages.
Alcaraz has made a flying visit to Bahrain fresh off the back of his historic achievement of becoming the youngest man to complete the career Grand Slam after his victory at the Australian Open earlier this month.
Alcaraz
12:36
What's so funny?
What are Toto Wolff and Kimi Antonelli having a laugh about here? Maybe Toto is showing young Kimi all the headlines he has made in the past 24 hours...
Antonelli and Wolff
12:30
Isack Hadjar has a first time on the board. It's a 1m40.014s from the Frenchman, who goes 10th in his Red Bull, ahead of Arvid Lindblad in the Racing Bulls.
12:16
We have some cars on track as Pierre Gasly, Ollie Bearman, Isack Hadjar and Arvid Lindblad venture out.
12:12
Bottas ready to go
Valtteri Bottas is ready to rock and roll as he takes over for Cadillac this afternoon.
12:07
Neo in the F1 paddock
Keanu Reeves has been spotted in the Bahrain F1 paddock on Thursday.
The Canadian actor and Matrix star is a keen motorsport enthusiast and is set to front a new documentary series covering Cadillac's journey to the F1 grid in 2026.
In 2023, he hosted and narrated 'Brawn: The Impossible Formula 1 Story' on Disney+.
Keanu Reeves
12:01
Green flag
We are back underway for the afternoon session in Bahrain as the pit lane light goes green.
Nobody heads out. Don't rush, lads...
11:46
Who is driving on Thursday afternoon?
McLaren - Lando Norris
Mercedes - George Russell
Ferrari - Charles Leclerc
Red Bull - Isack Hadjar
Williams - Carlos Sainz
Racing Bulls - Arvid Lindblad
Aston Martin - Fernando Alonso
Haas - Ollie Bearman
Audi - Gabriel Bortoleto
Alpine - Pierre Gasly
Cadillac - Valtteri Bottas
11:24
Strong reliability bar Mercedes, Red Bull
Other than the issues faced by Mercedes and Red Bull, it has been a pretty strong showing reliability-wise from everyone else on day two.
Seven drivers reached a half-century or more, with McLaren's Lando Norris leading the way in terms of total lappery from a single driver with 64 laps of the Bahrain International Circuit to his name.
It was a far more productive, if under-the-radar, session for Aston Martin. Fernando Alonso clocked 55 laps, which surpassed the rather paltry 36 laps managed by teammate Lance Stroll on the opening day. The two-time world champion was ninth and slowest of the drivers to have got a time on the board.
Kimi Antonelli managed just three laps before being sidelined with Mercedes engine trouble, and Red Bull's Isack Hadjar only appeared in the final seconds of the morning to complete an installation lap. Both teams will be looking to make up for their lack of running in the afternoon.
Norris
11:10
Thursday morning mileage chart
Team by team:
McLaren - 64 laps
Ferrari - 62 laps
Williams - 62 laps
Alpine - 61 laps
Haas - 55 laps
Aston Martin - 55 laps
Racing Bulls - 50 laps
Audi - 47 laps
Cadillac - 42 laps
Mercedes - 3 laps
Red Bull - 1 lap
PU manufacturer:
Mercedes - 190 laps
Ferrari - 104
Honda - 55 laps
Audi - 47 laps
Red Bull Powertrains - 51 laps