08:38
Lance Stroll heads out again in the Aston Martin. He's put in 15 laps so far in a car he wasn't very complimentary of yesterday, noting that the team was around four seconds off the pace.
Let's see if it can make any gains today.
Lewis Hamilton
LIVE
F1 Bahrain Testing LIVE: George Russell lowers pace as Lewis Hamilton returns
Live updates from the third day of the opening F1 2026 pre-season test in Bahrain.
KEY MOMENTS:
- George Russell sets new benchmark pace for Mercedes
- New Cadillac breaks down for second straight morning
- Red Bull's Max Verstappen tears into F1 2026 cars, calling them "Formula E on steroids"
- Lando Norris tells Verstappen he "can retire" if he wants in defence of new cars
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.
13 Feb 2026
08:31
As I say that, though, Verstappen is back in the pits.
Only Colapinto, Piastri and Lawson on track right now.
08:29
Max Verstappen may not like driving these new cars much, but he's sure getting the work in this morning. He's up to 26 laps.
08:20
That face when your team-mate has just set the fastest time of the test so far!
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) February 13, 2026
08:05
Russell goes even faster
George Russell has lowered the pace again with a 1m33.918s. That's the first sub 1m34 lap time we've seen this week.
Lewis Hamilton shoots up to second with a 1m34.209s in his Ferrari.
08:02
Oscar Piastri has got his first time on the board and slots into seventh, just behind Lewis Hamilton, on a 1m37.667s.
08:01
Lap times after an hour
| 2026 F1 Bahrain Pre-Season Test 1: Day 3 (8am) | |||||
| Pos | Driver | Nat. | Team | Time | Laps |
| 1 | George Russell | GBR | Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team | 1m34.075s | 14 |
| 2 | Max Verstappen | NED | Oracle Red Bull Racing | 1m35.341s | 14 |
| 3 | Ollie Bearman | GBR | TGR Haas F1 Team | 1m36.936s | 11 |
| 4 | Carlos Sainz | ESP | Atlassian Williams F1 Team | 1m37.186s | 19 |
| 5 | Liam Lawson | NZL | Visa Cash App Racing Bulls F1 Team | 1m37.238s | 21 |
| 6 | Lewis Hamilton | GBR | Scuderia Ferrari HP | 1m37.643s | 14 |
| 7 | Franco Colapinto | ARG | BWT Alpine F1 Team | 1m38.401s | 13 |
| 8 | Valtteri Bottas | FIN | Cadillac F1 Team | 1m40.281s | 8 |
| 9 | Gabriel Bortoleto | BRA | Audi Revolut F1 Team | 1m41.355s | 12 |
| 10 | Lance Stroll | CAN | Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team | 1m41.504s | 10 |
| 11 | Oscar Piastri | AUS | McLaren Mastercard F1 Team | No time set | 7 |
07:58
Green flag
Valtteri Bottas's Cadillac has been recovered and the track is live once more.
07:52
It's Valtteri Bottas, whose Cadillac has come to a stop out on track. That's consecutive mornings now that the yet-to-be-named Cadillac has broke down.
07:50
Red flag
We have a red flag.
07:48
Norris says McLaren behind two rivals
Lando Norris has admitted McLaren are currently lagging behind Red Bull and Ferrari heading into the 2026 F1 season.
"We did a good amount of laps, we're certainly not quick enough,” the Briton told Sky Sports F1 at the end of the second day.
Read the full story here ⬇️
NORRIS ADMITS MCLAREN LAGGING BEHIND TWO F1 RIVALS
Lando Norris, McLaren Racing, 2026 Bahrain F1 test
© XPB Images
07:32
New fastest lap of testing
George Russell has gone even faster, and it's the quickest time we've seen so far this week.
It's a 1m34.075s from the Mercedes driver, which surpasses Charles Leclerc's 1m34.273s by two tenths.
Russell is on it this morning.
Russell
07:24
Russell fastest
George Russell is the first driver to set a representative lap time with a 1m34.821s. That's within a second of the benchmark pace produced by Ferrari's Charles Leclerc on Thursday.
07:14
It's been a flurry of activity in the opening 10 minutes or so.
Five drivers have set lap times, with Carlos Sainz leading the way in his Williams on a 1m37.761s.
07:05
Some early times on the board already this morning with several drivers getting straight to it.
George Russell leads the way for Mercedes with a 1m38.289s, ahead of Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton, both of whom have set pretty unrepresentative times in their Red Bull and Ferrari.
07:00
Green flag
Green light at the end of the pit lane and the on-track action on day three has officially kicked off.
06:55
Who is driving on Friday?
McLaren: Oscar Piastri
Mercedes: George Russell (AM), Kimi Antonelli (PM)
Red Bull: Max Verstappen (AM), Isack Hadjar (PM)
Ferrari: Lewis Hamilton
Williams: Carlos Sainz (AM), Alex Albon (PM)
Racing Bulls: Liam Lawson
Aston Martin: Lance Stroll
Haas: Ollie Bearman (AM), Esteban Ocon (PM)
Audi: Gabriel Bortoleto (AM), Nico Hulkenberg (PM)
Alpine: Franco Colapinto
Cadillac: Valtteri Bottas (AM), Sergio Perez (PM)
06:50
What happened on Day 2?
Ferrari's Charles Leclerc set the fastest time of the test so far on Thursday with a 1m34.273s, while Red Bull and Mercedes recovered from troubled starts that saw them miss most of the morning's session.
But the biggest headlines were made off the track by Red Bull's Max Verstappen. The four-time world champion savagely attacked the new F1 cars this year.
Verstappen said the new generation are "not a lot of fun" to drive and are like "Formula E on steroids" as he joined Lewis Hamilton in criticising the 2026 F1 cars.
Such comments from F1's two biggest stars are not a good look for the sport, and one imagines neither F1 or the FIA will be happy with what's been said.
Both Verstappen and Hamilton are back in action on Day 3, having sat out on Thursday.
Verstapppen
06:43
Good morning!
Good morning! It's time for the third and final day of testing from the first pre-season test in Bahrain.
This opening test has absolutely flown by, but we have another eight hours of running to bring you. We will be keeping you up to date with everything that happens right here.