F1 2026 Bahrain pre-season testing: Max Verstappen leads first session
Max Verstappen led the first session of the Bahrain F1 test on Wednesday
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen topped the opening session of the first official pre-season test of Formula 1 2026, as Franco Colapinto brought out a brief red flag.
Testing of F1’s new cars began late last month with the unofficial shakedown at Barcelona, which was held behind closed doors.
Run over five days, teams were only permitted to use a maximum of three.
You can follow all the action from today's Bahrain pre-season test over on our Live Blog here.
Official testing began on Wednesday in Bahrain, with three days taking place this week, before a final three-day outing at the same venue next week.
Behind the wheel of the new Red Bull and its Ford-backed power unit, four-time world champion Max Verstappen set the pace in the first session of the day.
He led the way with a 1m35.433s, besting Oscar Piastri in the McLaren, while Mercedes and George Russell were third.
The morning got off to a steady start at the Bahrain circuit, with Russell leading the way after the opening hour with a 1m39.419s.
In the second hour, a stoppage for Alpine’s Franco Colapinto brought out a brief red flag while his stricken car was recovered.
The interruption to the session was brief, however, with Verstappen leading the way at the end of the second hour with a 1m35.433s.
That time would go unbeaten to the chequered flag at 2pm local time, with Verstappen ending the session with 65 laps completed.
He is due to remain in the Red Bull for the second session after lunch.
Piastri improved in the latter stages of the session to a 1m35.602s, as early pacesetter Russell dropped to third ahead of Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton and the Haas of Esteban Ocon.
Racing Bulls rookie Arvid Lindblad head the Wiliams of Carlos Sainz in sixth, with the latter completing the most laps of anyone at 77.
Gabriel Bortoleto was eighth in the Audi, as the German manufacturer debuted a radical new sidepod design from the one it ran at the Barcelona shakedown.
Valtteri Bottas was ninth in the Cadillac, who debuted its new colours on track on Tuesday during a filming run.
Lance Stroll (Aston Martin) and Colapinto rounded out the 11 cars who took to the track in the first session.
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