Ferrari's Charles Leclerc set the pace on the final day of F1 2026 pre-season testing in Bahrain as preparations for the new campaign motor towards a conclusion.
Aston Martin ran into more trouble on the last day, while a stoppage for Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli brought out a red flag.
Friday is the third day of the second test and will provide the last chance to get some crucial on-track running and understanding of the new 2026 cars before the action begins for real on 8 March with the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.
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 before the 2026 F1 campaign gets underway.
The second and final three-day test is on 18-20 February. Testing takes place between 7am and 4pm with a one-hour lunch break each day.
It doesn't look like we will see Kimi Antonelli back out before the lunch break after he stopped a little earlier on his 49th tour of the Bahrain circuit. Time is running out for Mercedes.
If that is indeed the case, it will bring an end to Antonelli's running in pre-season, with teammate George Russell stepping in to drive the W17 for the remainder of Friday.
Lewis Hamilton may not be in action today, but he is keeping a watchful eye on Ferrari's progress from the pit wall and pit lane.
It's been a strong day for Ferrari and Charles Leclerc so far, with no repeat of the troubles that kept Lewis Hamilton garage-bound for most of Thursday morning.
Leclerc has been motoring along nicely this morning, racking up 74 laps and counting in the SF-26. Could he reach a century of laps before the lunch break?
For the time being, the current pacesetter is back in the Ferrari garage.
Aston Martin’s nightmare start to F1 2026 has continued on the final day of pre-season testing in Bahrain.
The Silverstone team is having to restrict its running on Friday due to Honda-related power unit problems, with Lance Stroll yet to appear on track.
Aston Martin team representative Pedro de la Rosa has been explaining the situation, which you can read in full ⬇️
ASTON MARTIN EXPLAINS MOUNTING PROBLEMS IN PLAGUED F1 TEST
| 2026 F1 Bahrain Pre-Season Test 2: Day 3 (10am) | |||||
| Pos | Driver | Nat. | Team | Time | Laps |
| 1 | Charles Leclerc | MON | Scuderia Ferrari HP | 1m33.689s | 67 |
| 2 | Kimi Antonelli | ITA | Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team | 1m33.916s | 49 |
| 3 | Oscar Piastri | AUS | McLaren Mastercard F1 Team | 1m34.352s | 51 |
| 4 | Esteban Ocon | FRA | TGR Haas F1 Team | 1m34.494s | 52 |
| 5 | Isack Hadjar | FRA | Oracle Red Bull Racing | 1m34.511s | 38 |
| 6 | Pierre Gasly | FRA | BWT Alpine F1 Team | 1m34.846s | 40 |
| 7 | Arvid Lindblad | GBR | Visa Cash App Racing Bulls F1 Team | 1m35.238s | 59 |
| 8 | Carlos Sainz | ESP | Atlassian Williams F1 Team | 1m35.252s | 48 |
| 9 | Nico Hulkenberg | GER | Audi Revolut F1 Team | 1m36.019s | 49 |
| 10 | Sergio Perez | MEX | Cadillac F1 Team | 1m41.894s | 31 |
Check out Ocon's run on intermediate tyres from earlier ⬇️
We just got a good visual representation of the fears drivers had about following. Lindblad followed Sainz through Turn 12 and got a massive snap midway through the turn.
Perez is in the pits right now, but has managed over 20 laps now in the Cadillac.
Whatever was being inspected on the back of the McLaren clearly wasn't a major concern as Piastri is back out there.
Mercedes has gotten its stricken car back to pitlane, though unlikely we'll see that back out on track with just under 90 minutes left in this session.
There has been a lot of comments predicting doom and despair when the 2026 season starts with these new cars.
But Stefano Domenicali has called for calm.
Read more ⬇️
Ferrari mechanics are standing as a wall in front of the car in the garage right now.
The rear of Piastri's McLaren is getting a good looking at from mechanics. Possibly a problem there?
And the red flag has been withdrawn.
Antonelli's Mercedes has been recovered, so should be getting underway soon.
Session has been stopped.
Andrea Kimi Antonelli has stopped on track at Turn 10.
Bit busier out there just now, with Leclerc, Antonelli, Piastri, Ocon, Hadjar, Linblad, Hulkenberg, Perez out on track.
Antonelli completes another flying lap, but doesn't improve on his 1m33.916s. However, it was very close - a 1m34.000s.
| 2026 F1 Bahrain Pre-Season Test 2: Day 3 (9am) | |||||
| Pos | Driver | Nat. | Team | Time | Laps |
| 1 | Charles Leclerc | MON | Scuderia Ferrari HP | 1m33.689s | 42 |
| 2 | Kimi Antonelli | ITA | Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team | 1m33.916s | 43 |
| 3 | Oscar Piastri | AUS | McLaren Mastercard F1 Team | 1m34.352s | 28 |
| 4 | Esteban Ocon | FRA | TGR Haas F1 Team | 1m34.494s | 22 |
| 5 | Isack Hadjar | FRA | Oracle Red Bull Racing | 1m34.511s | 25 |
| 6 | Arvid Lindblad | GBR | Visa Cash App Racing Bulls F1 Team | 1m35.238s | 34 |
| 7 | Carlos Sainz | ESP | Atlassian Williams F1 Team | 1m35.252s | 29 |
| 8 | Pierre Gasly | FRA | BWT Alpine F1 Team | 1m35.692s | 29 |
| 9 | Nico Hulkenberg | GER | Audi Revolut F1 Team | 1m37.086s | 31 |
| 10 | Sergio Perez | MEX | Cadillac F1 Team | 1m44.636s | 4 |
We've finally seen Cadillac on track again, with Perez completing a couple of laps. His tally is up to three in this session.
The 2026 F1 cars have come with them some confusing new things. We explain what 'super clipping' is.
Read more ⬇️
Aston Martin, as of this morning, has not even completed 400 laps in Bahrain this pre-season.
Check out Lewis Larkam's feature on Aston's troubles from a few days ago in light of its latest dramas.
Hulkenberg has a massive lock-up into Turn 1 in the Audi. Those tyres are about as round as a 50 pence piece now!
Antonelli fires in the best final sector of the day so far, but doesn't improve his time overall and stays third.
Meanwhile, Piastri just had a big lock-up into Turn 1.