07:31
Alpine's Pierre Gasly remains the only driver with a meaningful time so far with a 1m39.625s.
For reference, the quickest time yesterday was a 1:34.669 from McLaren's Lando Norris.
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
07:38
Delayed start for Red Bull
Uh oh. We hope we weren't the kiss of death by mentioning how crucial today could be for Isack Hadjar.
Red Bull have just confirmed to us that the team encountered a "routine issue" with the car build yesterday and are not expecting to be in action for the next two hours.
Potentially missing half of the morning session is not an ideal start to Hadjar's day.
07:21
Important day for Hadjar
Isack Hadjar is getting a full day of running in the brand-new Red Bull today, with teammate Max Verstappen watching on from the sidelines after he had a strong first day in the RB22 and clocked the most mileage of a single driver by lapping the Bahrain International Circuit 136 times.
The 21-year-old Frenchman will be looking to put his disruptive crash in the Barcelona shakedown behind him and have a solid day to get back on track and avoid a troubled start to his Red Bull career.
It is set to be a huge year for Hadjar as he becomes the latest driver given the unenviable task of being Verstappen's teammate following a standout rookie F1 campaign. Will he fare better than his predecessors? Time will tell.
Isack Hadjar
07:16
Green flag
A speedy recovery! Sergio Perez's Cadillac has been retrieved and we are clear to return to green flag conditions.
07:11
Red flag
We have an early red flag and it's for Sergio Perez, who has ground to a halt in his Cadillac on the back straight during what appeared to be an out-lap.
That's the first red flag of the day. We only had two on Wednesday, and we are already half way to matching the total stoppages from day one.
07:07
Charles Leclerc immediately improves to a 1m47.597s, before Pierre Gasly replaces him at the top on a 1m40.313s for Alpine.
Seven drivers have already gone out inside the opening 10 minutes of running this morning.
07:06
We have a first lap time on the board nice and early from Charles Leclerc, who posts a 1m57.509s in his Ferrari.
07:00
Morning session underway!
We have a green flag and the morning session on the second day of the opening pre-season test in Bahrain is go!
06:58
Who is driving on Thursday?
McLaren - Lando Norris
Mercedes - Kimi Antonelli (AM), George Russell (PM)
Red Bull - Isack Hadjar
Ferrari - Charles Leclerc
Williams - Alex Albon (AM), Carlos Sainz (PM)
Racing Bulls - Liam Lawson (AM), Arvid Lindblad (PM)
Aston Martin - Fernando Alonso
Haas - Ollie Bearman
Audi: Nico Hulkenberg (AM), Gabriel Bortoleto (PM)
Alpine: Pierre Gasly
Cadillac: Sergio Perez (AM), Valtteri Bottas (PM)
Hulkenberg
06:50
Good morning on day two
Good morning and welcome to Crash.net's live coverage of the second day of the first F1 2026 pre-season test in Bahrain.
New F1 world champion Lando Norris was quickest in his McLaren on the opening day, but it was Red Bull and Max Verstappen who shined, leaving their rivals fearing they could have a major advantage heading into the new campaign.
We have another eight hours of F1 testing action coming up for you on Thursday, and we will be keeping you up to date with everything that happens at the Bahrain International Circuit right here.