Bahrain F1 Test: Leclerc Quickest, Aston Martin’s Two-Lap Limit

During the concluding morning of the 2026 Formula 1 pre-season assessments, Charles Leclerc delivered a highly commendable performance by securing the fastest time; concurrently, Aston Martin encountered additional difficulties in Bahrain.

The competitor for Ferrari recorded a lap time of 1 minute, 33.689 seconds using C3 compound tires within the first sixty minutes, marking the third occasion Leclerc has achieved the quickest time over the past fourteen days.

In addition to his rapid pace, the driver from Monaco amassed the second-highest total distance on Friday’s morning session, completing eighty circuits of the Sakhir track, encompassing a complete race simulation at the session’s midpoint.

Throughout the simulated race, he utilized both medium and hard compound tires; this marked the second day Ferrari deployed its distinctive rear wing featuring an upper flap capable of a 180-degree rotation. 

Undoubtedly, this innovation has dominated discussions during this week’s testing, though focusing on the official timing sheets, Leclerc held an advantage of 0.227 seconds over Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli, who placed second. 

The nineteen-year-old aspirant likewise achieved his quickest circuit on C3 tires, yet he managed only a modest forty-nine laps before instigating the session’s sole red flag by stopping his car between Turns 10 and 11 midway through. 

According to information gathered by Autosport, Antonelli encountered a reduction in pneumatic pressure, necessitating a power unit replacement by the Silver Arrows team, thus preventing his re-entry for the final one hundred minutes. 

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, Isack Hadjar, Red Bull Racing

Photo by: Simon Galloway / LAT Images via Getty Images

Oscar Piastri subsequently completed the leading trio, finishing 0.663 seconds behind Leclerc after recording his lap on C4 tires and finishing sixty-six circuits in the McLaren, which equaled the fourth-highest lap count that morning. 

Following him was Esteban Ocon, who performed admirably for Haas, covering the greatest distance with eighty-two laps and trailing Piastri by slightly less than two tenths of a second on the prototype tire.

Isack Hadjar secured the fifth position for Red Bull, lagging Leclerc by 0.822 seconds; meanwhile, Pierre Gasly, Arvid Lindblad, Carlos Sainz, Nico Hulkenberg, and Sergio Perez each consecutively filled the remainder of the top ten. 

Lance Stroll of Aston Martin occupied the last position, as his team extended its challenging pre-season evaluation by managing only two laps this morning because of a component scarcity affecting its Honda power unit. 

This followed Stroll’s engine malfunction on Wednesday, which was swiftly followed by a spin, also appearing to be a technical malfunction. Fernando Alonso encountered a comparable power unit complication on Thursday, resulting in Stroll’s delayed appearance on the circuit until the concluding fifteen to twenty minutes of Friday morning’s session. 

The testing period concluded with the standard system verifications implemented by the FIA since Wednesday. Lando Norris, George Russell, Max Verstappen, Leclerc, Sainz, Lindblad, Stroll, Oliver Bearman, Gabriel Bortoleto, Gasly, and Valtteri Bottas are all scheduled to participate in the afternoon segment, during which heightened performance efforts and quicker laps are anticipated.

Formula 1 Bahrain Pre-Season Assessment – Morning Results, Day 6