F1 Bahrain Testing LIVE: Mercedes 1-2 after sandbagging claims

Isack Hadjar, who will be back behind the wheel of the Red Bull this afternoon, has been speaking to Sky Sports about the first test. 

According to the Frenchman, the so-called 'big four' teams - McLaren, Mercedes, Red Bull and Ferrari - will all be fighting it out for wins in 2026. 

"It's similar to the last couple of years in terms of ranking teams. It's still the big four teams fighting for wins I would say," he said. 

Here is the moment Valtteri Bottas ground to a halt in his Cadillac a little earlier on. 

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.

As I say that, though, Verstappen is back in the pits. 

Only Colapinto, Piastri and Lawson on track right now. 

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. 

That face when your team-mate has just set the fastest time of the test so far!

Oscar Piastri has got his first time on the board and slots into seventh, just behind Lewis Hamilton, on a 1m37.667s. 

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. 

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.

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NORRIS ADMITS MCLAREN LAGGING BEHIND TWO F1 RIVALS

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. 

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. 

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)

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. 

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.