08:23
Antonelli is on a big push lap, but made a mistake at Turn 4. He's carrying on, though.
Charles Leclerc
Day 3 of second F1 2026 Bahrain pre-season test as it happened
Relive the third and final day of the second F1 2026 pre-season test in Bahrain.
KEY MOMENTS:
- Charles Leclerc sets strong pace for Ferrari
- Mercedes causes red flag as Kimi Antonelli stops
- Aston Martin ends nightmare F1 2026 test early
- Potential Ferrari F1 2026 game-changer revealed
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.
20 Feb 2026
08:19
Leclerc and Hulkenberg are the only drivers out on track right now. Very much looking at long running right now.
08:10
Honda engine update
"Our last run with Fernando Alonso yesterday showed a battery-related issue that impacted our test plan with the Aston Martin Aramco Formula 1 Team.
"Since then, we have been carrying out simulations on the test bench in HRC Sakura. Due to this and a shortage of power unit parts, we have adapted today's run plan to be very limited and consist only of short stints."
08:09
Esteban Ocon is out on a set of intermediate tyres. Now, there doesn't look like there's going to be any rain. He looks to be evaluating how the active aero works in a wet situation.
08:06
Hadjar was on a flying lap, but locked up into Turn 8 and has had to abandon that tour.
08:04
Piastri completes another flying lap, but stays third in the McLaren.
08:00
Lap times after an hour
| 2026 F1 Bahrain Pre-Season Test 2: Day 3 (8am) | |||||
| Pos | Driver | Nat. | Team | Time | Laps |
| 1 | Charles Leclerc | MON | Scuderia Ferrari HP | 1m33.689s | 15 |
| 2 | Kimi Antonelli | ITA | Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team | 1m33.916s | 21 |
| 3 | Oscar Piastri | AUS | McLaren Mastercard F1 Team | 1m34.352s | 13 |
| 4 | Esteban Ocon | FRA | TGR Haas F1 Team | 1m34.494s | 17 |
| 5 | Isack Hadjar | FRA | Oracle Red Bull Racing | 1m34.511s | 13 |
| 6 | Carlos Sainz | ESP | Atlassian Williams F1 Team | 1m35.252s | 14 |
| 7 | Arvid Lindblad | GBR | Visa Cash App Racing Bulls F1 Team | 1m35.674s | 18 |
| 8 | Pierre Gasly | FRA | BWT Alpine F1 Team | 1m36.064s | 14 |
| 9 | Nico Hulkenberg | GER | Audi Revolut F1 Team | 1m37.230s | 16 |
| 10 | Sergio Perez | MEX | Cadillac F1 Team | No time set | 1 |
07:54
Kimi Antonelli puts in a quicker lap and goes second-fastest with a 1m33.916s, leaving the Mercedes driver 0.227s off the pace.
07:52
No sign of Aston Martin
Nearly an hour into the morning session and the only car we are yet to see is the Aston Martin.
There has been no sign of Lance Stroll emerging from the garage, and Aston Martin currently have screens up as they continue to work on the AMR26, which hasn't been out since Fernando Alonso broke down early in the afternoon yesterday.
Lance Stroll
07:39
Oscar Piastri moves his McLaren up to second in the timesheet, 0.663s behind Ferrari's Charles Leclerc.
07:30
Isack Hadjar has bettered his time with a 1m34.511s, which puts him 0.822s off the pace set by Charles Leclerc.
Eight of the 10 drivers to go out this morning have lap times on the board. Lance Stroll is the only driver yet to appear for Aston Martin.
07:18
Leclerc quickest
Charles Leclerc stretches the legs of his Ferrari to go fastest with a 1m33.837s on C3 tyres.
07:16
Oscar Piastri posts his first time of the day in his McLaren with a 1m37.759s, which puts him third.
07:13
Current pacesetter Isack Hadjar already has six laps on the board this morning, as does Arvid Lindblad.
Sergio Perez and Oscar Piastri have just joined the action for Cadillac and McLaren respectively.
07:06
We have the first times of the day on the board and it's Isack Hadjar currently leading the way for Red Bull with a 1m35.011s, 2.375s clear of Arvid Lindblad in the Racing Bulls.
Eight drivers have already gone out in the opening five minutes or so.
07:00
Final day of F1 2026 pre-season testing is go!
Green light and the final day of F1 2026 pre-season testing in Bahrain is underway!
06:50
Who is driving today?
McLaren: Oscar Piastri (AM), Lando Norris (PM)
Mercedes: Kimi Antonelli (AM), George Russell (PM)
Red Bull: Isack Hajdar (AM), Max Verstappen (PM)
Ferrari: Charles Leclerc
Williams: Carlos Sainz
Racing Bulls: Arvid Lindblad
Aston Martin: Lance Stroll
Haas: Esteban Ocon (AM), Ollie Bearman (PM)
Audi: Nico Hulkenberg (AM), Gabriel Bortoleto (PM)
Alpine: Pierre Gasly
Cadillac: Sergio Perez (AM), Valtteri Bottas (PM)
06:42
What happened on Day 2?
In case you need a quick reminder of what happened yesterday, it was Kimi Antonelli who laid down a new marker for Mercedes as he narrowly beat McLaren's Oscar Piastri to the fastest time.
Perhaps the biggest headlines were made by Ferrari, who turned heads first thing in the morning by debuting an innovative 'upside down' rear wing that was seen rotating a full 180 when the new-for-2026 active aero closed at the end of straights.
Lewis Hamilton had a disrupted last day as his pre-season programme came to an end, with the seven-time world champion losing three hours in the morning due to a problem with his Ferrari, believed to be on the chassis-side.
When he re-emerged, Ferrari had reverted to a more traditional rear wing configuration, but there was still time for Hamilton to catch the eye with some very fast practice starts.
Aston Martin's troubled start to F1 2026 continued as Fernando Alonso broke down, causing the only red flag of Thursday. The stoppage means Aston Martin is yet to complete a race simulation during testing and leaves the team on the back foot.
F1 practice start
06:31
Final day of F1 pre-season testing
Good morning and welcome to Crash.net's live coverage of the third day of the second F1 2026 pre-season test in Bahrain.
Seemingly just like that, we arrive on the final day of pre-season! Friday will provide the 11 teams a crucial final eight hours of running before F1 heads to Australia for the season-opener in two weeks.
As ever, we will be bringing you all the action from Sakhir, which gets underway at 7am.