Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc secured the fastest time on the second morning of the initial Formula 1 pre-season testing event in Bahrain, while both Mercedes and Red Bull, as well as Cadillac, encountered reliability issues.
Roughly 75 minutes into the session, Leclerc piloted the Ferrari SF-26 to a time of 1m34.273s, surpassing Lando Norris’s Wednesday benchmark for McLaren by four-tenths of a second.
Conversely, Norris achieved his 1m34.669s best lap using medium compound tires, whereas Leclerc utilized soft tires for the entirety of the morning’s run. The British driver then placed second, once more on mediums, with a time of 1m34.784s.
The remaining vehicles trailed the leading pace by a minimum of 2.4 seconds, a gap clearly not indicative of the actual competitive hierarchy, but certainly connected to the technical problems faced by two prominent teams.
Red Bull managed only one lap right at the close of the morning session; the team reportedly discovered a hydraulic leak within the chassis during the vehicle assembly the previous day. Isack Hadjar was scheduled to participate for the entire day, so the young French driver will be looking forward to making up for lost time subsequent to this.
Meanwhile, Andrea Kimi Antonelli at Mercedes completed merely three laps before a power unit malfunction forced his withdrawal from the remainder of the morning’s activities. George Russell was slated to assume driving duties for the afternoon.
Sergio Perez, Cadillac Racing
Photo by: Joe Portlock / LAT Images via Getty Images
Concurrently, Sergio Perez of Cadillac triggered a red flag during his initial out-lap due to an undisclosed issue; however, following its retrieval, the car quickly returned to the track.
Perez subsequently finished 42 laps, recording a personal best time of 1m38.653s, a speed exceeded by all drivers except for Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso, who posted a 1m38.960s.
Alpine emerged as the strongest among the remaining competitors, with Pierre Gasly achieving a lap of 1m36.723s, placing him ahead of Oliver Bearman (Haas), Alexander Albon (Williams), Nico Hulkenberg (Audi), and Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls).
The session concluded with the execution of both a Virtual Safety Car and a red flag simulation.
Formula 1 Bahrain Pre-Season Test Day 2 – Morning Session Outcomes
| Pos | DRIVER | TEAM | Lap Time | GAP | LAPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Charles Leclerc |
Ferrari | 1m34.273s | 62 | |
| 2 |  Lando Norris |
McLaren |
1m34.784s |
+0.511s |
64 |
| 3 |  Pierre Gasly |
Alpine |
1m36.723s |
+2.450s |
61 |
| 4 | Oliver Bearman |
Haas |
1m37.025s |
+2.752s |
55 |
| 5 |  Alex Albon |
Williams |
1m37.229s |
+2.956s | 62 |
| 6 |  Nico Hulkenberg |
Audi | 1m37.266s | +2.993s |
47 |
| 7 |  Liam Lawson |
Racing Bulls | 1m38.017s | +3.744s | 50 |
| 8 |  Sergio Perez |
Cadillac | 1m38.653s | +4.380s |
42 |
| 9 |  Fernando Alonso |
Aston Martin | 1m38.960s | +4.687s |
55 |
| 10 |  Andrea Kimi Antonelli |
Mercedes | – | – |
3 |
| 11 | Isack Hadjar |
Red Bull | – | – |
1 |
